Man Spending Life In Prison For Killing Classmate Up For Parole

NATICK (CBS) -- The Massachusetts Parole Board is considering whether to release a Canton man who beat someone to death with a baseball bat when he was a teenager.  Rod Matthews is now 43-years-old, but they were both 14 when he killed Shaun Ouillette in 1986.

He cried as he told the parole board he was a different person 30 years ago, a kid trying to prove something to his friends.

"I wanted to tell them, as sick as it sounds, I had to prove I could murder him," Matthews said.

Shaun Ouilette. (Family Photo)

Among his supporters, Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox, who referenced the recent Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for juvenile murderers to get a shot at parole. "The portion of the brain that controls our ability to think things through and consider longterm consequences doesn't fully develop...until late adolescence or adulthood," he told the board.

Matthews was the state's first juvenile to be tried for murder in adult court and was convicted of second degree murder.

Ouillette's sister spoke via Skype on a laptop. Her mother said she was too afraid to be in the same room as Matthews. He got a profound message from the mother of the teen he killed.

Ouilette's mother Jean Quinn spoke at the hearing in Natick Tuesday to advocate for her son and keep Matthews behind bars.

"I have forgiven you, Rod" said Quinn. "But there is a difference...between forgive and forget. I have been able to survive through all of this because I have done that."

"A leopard never changes his spots," Quinn told WBZ-TV.

Quinn said she's received well wishes from tens of thousands of supporters.

"The support I've gotten, you can lean against," Quinn said. "And [Matthews] has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has not changed one bit."

This is Matthews third attempt to petition the state Parole Board for his release. The board is expected to release a decision in a few weeks or possibly even months.