While much is written on the murderers and their allies who are using North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act (RJA) to try and get themselves off of death row, we seldom hear about the victims. Here’s one.
The first victim of the RJA was Erik Tornblom, a 17-year-old from Fayetteville. In 1991, the high school senior was returning home from a job at a restaurant when he gave Marcus Robinson and an accomplice a ride. What Tornbloom didn’t know was that earlier that day Robinson had picked up a sawed-off shotgun from a friend.
The pair responded to Tornblom’s kindness by kidnapping him and stealing his car and the $27 in his wallet. As Tornbloom lay in a field begging for mercy, Robinson killed him with a shotgun blast to the face.
The judge who freed Robinson from Death Row, Gregory A. Weeks, said his crime was “unspeakably horrendous.” The RJA freed this murderer not because there was any doubt about his guilt, or even of anything specific to his trial, but because of statistics that purport to show statewide racial bias in the selection of juries over the decades.
What we are left with is a convicted murderer who will live out his natural life, and an innocent boy of 17 who was gunned down before he could live his. Now Erik Tornblom and his family have been victimized twice — once by the murderer and a second time by the state of North Carolina. We should not forget the victims, especially at a time when all of the publicity is going to the murderer.
As for Robinson, he supposedly is now imprisoned for life. Yet a question lingers: How can the state impose a new sentence on a convict after the trial? Robinson beat one punishment; can he dodge another?
And his story isn’t the end of it. According to news reports, almost all of the 157 prisoners on North Carolina’s death row have filed appeals under the RJA.
Eric would have been my brother-in-law had he not been murdered by that piece of crap. Racial justice my rear end!
I lived just a few blocks away from Erik growing up. It was so long ago, but I believe we went to the same church. He definitely attended school with my older sister. I had the biggest crush on him and his murder was the first truly awful thing I remember experiencing. I still think about him from time to time. It’s not right that the bastard(s) who murdered him weren’t punished to the fullest extent of the law. This is a travesty.
I knew Erik and his mother. Erik and I went to school together and were close when we were little. Erik never said a harsh word to anyone. He went to school, worked and spent his free time with his girlfriend. There was no reason for this crime other than what that murderer said at trial. “He just wanted to see what it felt like to kill a white boy”. The true racial injustice is allowing him to live after admitting he just wanted to kill Erik because Erik was white.
I went to Tech school with Ericks sister, I remember how upsetting it was and so tragic, he was so young. It was heartbreaking. His mother suffered to get justice.