A Smithville man convicted in connection with the 2002 shooting death of Joshua Murphy will be up for parole on March 8.

After serving nearly fourteen years of a 45-year prison sentence for facilitation of first degree murder in the case, Christopher Nicholas Orlando, 43, wrote a letter to the Review editor last week asking forgiveness for the crime. The letter can be viewed on the Review website at http://www.smithvillereview.com/section/11/article/8827/.

Orlando, currently being held at the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City, was convicted along with Melvin Turnbill, who was paroled last year after serving almost thirteen years of a 25-year sentence for facilitation to first-degree murder. Murphy was killed with a shotgun in a wooded area in the Laurel Hill Community on September 15, 2002. His body was discovered three days later.

Prosecutors in the case said that Turnbill and Orlando lured Murphy to his death because they suspected him of stealing methamphetamine. His body was discovered three days later.

Orlando, who was convicted of the actual shooting, was convicted in DeKalb County Criminal Court Jury in April, 2004. Orlando’s last parole request was denied in March, 2013.

After Orlando's 2013 parole hearing, three members of the Tennessee Board of Parole voted to deny his release. While Orlando told the board at the time that he was sorry for the death of Murphy, he maintained that he did not pull the trigger, and blamed Turnbill for the murder.

"I was there and I made a lot of poor decisions but I didn't shoot him," Orlando said at the 2013 hearing. The members of the parole board said they found Orlando to be less than forthcoming about his involvement in the crime.