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Juror who put teen killer behind bars 'outraged' ahead of parole hearing

BOSTON — Nearly 27 years later, the man convicted of brutally killing a Groveland teenager is getting a parole hearing.

Richard Baldwin was 16 years old when police say he killed his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend, Beth Brodie. He was sentenced to life no-parole, but because of a change in the law, he is now getting a chance at freedom.

Kerry Bertrand, a man who was on the jury for Baldwin's 1994 trial, tells Boston 25 News he does not want Baldwin free.

"Outrage is what I feel. Outrage," he said.

"We were comfortable with the decision we made, putting him away for life with no parole. It was the only thing we could arrive at considering the facts," said Bertrand.

But in recent years, citing research about the development of the teenage brain, the SJC ruled life sentences without the possibility of parole is unconsitutional when it comes to teen killers.

>> PREVIOUS: Convicted teen murderer could appeal for parole thanks to SJC ruling

Bertrand told Boston 25 News the facts of Beth Brodie's murder still haunt him.

"He brought the bat out. He asked Beth to her face: 'do you want to turn around for this?' And he just took a full swing right into her face. We had to look at pictures," he said.

Bertrand says most of the jurors wanted to convict Baldwin immediately when they got back to the jury room, but he says two women on the jury wanted to take another look. They wanted to see if the system failed Richard Baldwin.

"This wasn't like an impulse thing, spur of the moment, this was thought out, it was premeditated," said Bertrand.

He has even written to the parole board urging it to keep Baldwin in prison.

"From the evidence I saw, I don't want him out on the street. It's not right. It's not fair. I think people would be in danger," he said.

In an interview last week, Beth Brodie's brother Sean Alyward said the family was "dealt a broken promise."

"He was sentenced to life, we didn't have to think about him at all. He didn't deserve any of our thoughts and still doesn't deserve our thoughts. But here we are, ready to face parole and he thinks for some reason he should walk free," said Alyward.

>> READ: 'We've been dealt a broken promise': Family fighting to keep teen killer in jail

Brodie's family is committed to trying to keep her killer behind bars.

Baldwin's parole hearing is scheduled for April 30.

Some of the 63 convicted teen killers in Massachusetts who were originally given life without parole sentences have since won their freedom through.

>> MORE: Parole board records show how many convicted teen killers have been released