Selma homicide punishment leaves victim's family unsatisfied

SELMA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Selma man is headed to prison for stabbing a man who stepped in to protect a woman during a fight, but the victim's family is unsatisfied with the punishment.

From a young age, Cory Smith made a habit of helping other people, and he showed it in elementary school when other kids picked on a disabled student.

"The kid was having trouble at school," said Cory's dad, Darrin Smith. "Everybody thought he was funny. He was different, you know. Cory stood up for him at school and just became his friend, and he was friends with him after that for a long time."

Smith's parents taught him to live by a warrior's code: Stand up for others, and fight only when you have to fight.

So in March of last year, when a woman started attacking his friend, Smith stepped in to help.

The attacker was with the victim's ex-boyfriend, Joshua Hernandez.

He'd had recently gotten out of prison for stabbing her while she was pregnant, and he joined the fight as well, stabbing Cory to death.

Hernandez told investigators he didn't mean to do it.

"Fearing for his life, the defendant said that he pulled out a 3-inch pocketknife and stabbed Mr. Smith said that he used a taser as well," said Judge Don Penner in summarizing the crime. "He was emotional during the interview claiming no intent to kill."

Prosecutors reached a plea deal with Hernandez, sending him to prison for 12 years on a manslaughter conviction.

Smith's parents say they're devastated by his death and by the punishment.

They remember their son for his love of the mountains and the water and his sense of humor, which was the glue that bound their family.

But most of all, they remember him as a hero.

"He would just put his life on the line for it," Darrin Smith said. "He paid the ultimate price to protect a human, and that's the bottom line right there."