Since 2019, Gov. Tony Evers’ Parole Commission has released hundreds of convicted criminals, freeing them early on parole mostly into Wisconsin communities, including more than 300 murderers and attempted murderers, and more than 47 child rapists.
Roy Barnes was one of them. His release was discretionary.
27th in the series.
Murder victim Edward Smith was the brother of one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims.
First, Dahmer, the notorious Milwaukee serial killer, murdered Edward W. Smith, in the early 1990s.
Then, in 1999, Ernest Smith was murdered.
Ernest Smith’s killer: A man named Roy Barnes, 39, of Milwaukee.
The brothers’ sister told the Associated Press that Ernest’s death brought up memories of Edwards’ slaying.
The murder of Ernest Smith by Roy Barnes was also horrific.
Barnes tortured Ernest Smith “and used his ear as an ashtray,” the old AP story reported.
The prosecutor said that Barnes had a “pattern of violence, including a 1998 hammer attack on another man.”
Evers’ Parole Commission Freed Roy Barnes Early 
Date Convicted: 05/08/2000
Date paroled: 09/20/2020. You can look up his parole date yourself by clicking on this database. Put his name in it and click “movement.”
Current Residence: Milwaukee
Age: 62
Convicted: First-degree reckless homicide
Sentence: 45 years. Mandatory release date of 9/20/2029. This release was discretionary.
Other: Had prior convictions for battery & substantial battery, including a hammer attack on a man in 1998.
The Victim:
Earnest Smith, 32. Brother of Jeffrey Dahmer victim, Edward W. Smith
What the Killer Did:
Barnes “stabbed Smith in reaction to waking up and finding Smith performing a sex act on him,” the AP story said.
The men were drinking alcohol and smoking crack cocaine.
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