Murderer could be paroled 10 years into 45-year sentence
MWC murderer could be free after 10 years

By Josh Rabe

Published: February 26, 2008

A convicted killer could be released from prison after serving 10 years of a 45-year sentence.

The state Pardon and Parole Board recommended Nathaniel Rabotte be paroled on the condition he complete vocational training.

The board met last week and released its official recommendations Monday.

Rabotte was 15 when he shot and killed William Eldon Lyday III, of Midwest City, in an apparent robbery. He was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 45 years in prison.

"My whole life, I thought he was never going to get out of prison,” said Lyday's daughter, Latee Lyday, who was 9 at the time of her father's death.

Lyday said she remembers the day a police officer knocked on her family's front door and asked to speak to her mother, who began screaming that her father had been shot and killed.

"How do you murder someone and get out after only 10 years?” asked Clara McGowen, the sister of William Lyday.

Due to the board's stipulation, Rabotte must complete vocational training before his parole application is sent to the governor's office for final approval.

Clara McGowen, the sister of William Lyday, said her family plans to urge Gov. Brad Henry to deny Rabotte's parole.

The board also recommended parole for a man dubbed the "good Samaritan killer.”

Kendall Vowell was sentenced to life in prison for killing a man who stopped to help him on the roadside in Norman.

Vowell's parole will now go to the governor's office. If approved there, the life sentence would be terminated and he would begin serving time on the other offenses.

In other action ...

•The board denied parole for Roosevelt Lee, who was convicted of murder in the 1983 slaying of a night watchman at an Oklahoma City tavern.

•Parole was denied for James Back, who is serving a life sentence for fatally shooting a hunting companion, Jimmy Dale Harris, in 1982.