Mother of man executed in Applebee’s apologizes to killer’s family at sentencing
Updated Mar 12, 2021;
Posted Mar 11, 2021
Noel Powell III, left, with his attorney Robin Lord during a 2017 court appearance in the death of Devin Smith.(Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media)
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It’s usually the other way around at a court sentencing: Defendants who have taken a life sometimes apologize to the victim’s surviving family members.
On Thursday, Debora Lapointe apologized to the family of Noel Powell III, the man who killed her son Devin Smith inside the Applebee’s in Lawrence in 2017.
“I am very sorry for anything and everything that Devin has done to your family,” Lapointe said, leading off a deeply emotional address in which she was blunt about her son’s actions and struggles, explained some of what led to the crime, and ended by forgiving Powell.