Billie Stephenson and Vanessa Roberts will meet with the state parole board to oppose the parole of convicted rapist Larry Fisher Thursday. "It's our job to keep him in prison," Roberts said.

Families unite to keep Fisher in prison

    More than 30 years after Larry Fisher was sent to prison for robbing, kidnapping and raping a Meridian woman, several local families are uniting to oppose his possible parole.  

    The state parole board plans to meet with families affected by the Fisher case Thursday at the Lauderdale County Courthouse.

     “This is our opportunity to hear from victims and their representatives who want to express their interest in the case,” Betty Lou Jones, a member of the parole board, said. “If there are advocates for the inmate, we will hear from them, too. We do this all the time.”

    Fisher, who will be 63 on Nov. 11, was convicted of the 1983 rape, kidnapping and robbery of Pat Rivers of Meridian.

     Fisher, the so-called “blue light rapist”, was also a suspect in the murders of Melinda Weathers and Carol Formby, both 18.

    “This will be the fifth hearing we’ve been to,” Billie Weathers Stephenson, Melinda’s younger sister, said Friday.

     “When you get that letter (about the hearing), it’s like somebody kicked you in the stomach,” said Stephenson, who was 12 when Melinda disappeared. “Because you know it’s coming.”

    “It never feels like it’s over,” Vanessa Roberts, Melinda’s cousin, said.

    Roberts remembers her cousin as passionate about sports.

    “She was a natural athlete,” Stephenson said. “Her senior year, she was named the Most Valuable Player for the Meridian High softballl team. She could play any sport, and loved it.”

    And she was generous and loving, Roberts recalls.

    “The day that Melinda went missing, my son was in the hospital, and she came up there and got in the bed with him,” Roberts remembers.

    “She was trying to teach him to play tennis at a year old,” Stephenson says, smiling.

    “When she walked into a room, she brought light,” Roberts said. “She was loud and outgoing, and a prankster.”

“It Changed Everything”

    

    On Feb. 11, 1983, Patsy Rivers was brutally strangled and raped in Lauderdale County.

    Fisher was called “the blue light rapist” for flashing blue lights similar to those used by the police while driving an unmarked car to stop female drivers.

    In March 1983, Carol Formby disappeared, and in May, Melinda Weather was reported missing. Their bodies were found later within a couple of miles of each other.   

    On June 4, police arrested Fisher using a decoy “sting” operation.

    “Nothing like this had ever happened here,” Stephenson said. “Melinda and I would walk to the Highland Park to play ball,” Roberts recalls.  “We could do that then.”

    “Then this monster came to our hometown and did this; it changed our community,” Roberts said. “The little short period he was here free, he wreaked havoc on this community. He was like a bloodthirsty beast.”

“No Rehabilitation”

     Roberts and Stephenson say they doubt Fisher has been rehabilitated, despite spending more than 30 years in prison.

     “When he first started committing crimes, he started on a small level,” Roberts said, referring to Fisher’s long criminal history.  

    “Every time he got in trouble, he got slapped on the hand. With each new crime, he takes it the next plateau. With this, he took it to the ultimate. To me, you don’t rehabilitate a man when the crimes he’s committed have only gotten worse. You don’t rehabilitate a man who, when he looks at you, you see evil.”

    “There is no rehabilitation for someone like this, outside of a lobotomy,” Stephenson said.

     “He would be a menace to society,” said Carol Formby’s younger brother Lewis, who has started an on online petition to fight Fisher’s parole and plans to be at the hearing with his family Thursday.

    “I was 12 when it happened,” recalled Formby, who lives in California. “I think the biggest impact for me was seeing the stress on my parents, especially my mother.”

    “He was on parole in Georgia for rape,” Formby said of Fisher’s past. “I’m all for rehabilitating people, but I don’t see that he’s one of those people. I think he needs to stay where he is.”

    “I don’t care if he’s 60 years old, or 80,” Stephenson said. “A lot of people will say he’s not a threat anymore.”

    “The only time he will stop being a threat is when he’s gone,” Roberts said.

Community Support

    “It’s unreal how the community has supported us,” Roberts said. “We know we have our entire community behind us.”

    “Nobody’s forgotten about it,” Roberts says. “We’ve got friends that have moved across the country. Their lives have gone on. But when this comes up, we hear from people every where.”

     In addition to members of the Weathers and Formby families, Pat Rivers’ daughter plans to be at Thursday’s 11 a.m. hearing, Stephenson said.

    The meeting is not open to the public, but those who want to support the cause may meet at the Lauderdale County Courthouse, Stephenson said.

    “Last time (in 2011), we walked in the door with about 300 letters people had emailed to us,” she said. “That’s not including petitions and letters mailed to us.”

    “It was snowing; it was a horrible day,” she said. “But people came to the courthouse to support us; we were both in awe.”

    “After 32 years, people still care,” Roberts said.

     Those unable to attend may e-mail a letter of opposition to melindagailweathers@gmail.com.

    Letters must include the following: Larry Fisher MDOC#41417  DOB:11/11/52

    Supporters can also sign the online petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/834/595/006/keep-larry-fisher-in-prison/

    

    The parole board will hear directly from Fisher sometime between November and his parole eligibility date in January, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.  

    When that will be exactly is to be determined, an agency spokesperson said last week.

 Melinda’s cousin, said.

    Roberts remembers her cousin as passionate about sports.

    “She was a natural athlete,” Stephenson said. “Her senior year, she was named the Most Valuable Player for the Meridian High softballl team. She could play any sport, and loved it.”

    And she was generous and loving, Roberts recalls.

    “The day that Melinda went missing, my son was in the hospital, and she came up there and got in the bed with him,” Roberts remembers.

    “She was trying to teach him to play tennis at a year old,” Stephenson says, smiling.

    “When she walked into a room, she brought light,” Roberts said. “She was loud and outgoing, and a prankster.”

“It Changed Everything”

    

    On Feb. 11, 1983, Patsy Rivers was brutally strangled and raped in Lauderdale County.

    Fisher was called “the blue light rapist” for flashing blue lights similar to those used by the police while driving an unmarked car to stop female drivers.

    In March 1983, Carol Formby disappeared, and in May, Melinda Weather was reported missing. Their bodies were found later within a couple of miles of each other.   

    On June 4, police arrested Fisher using a decoy “sting” operation.

    “Nothing like this had ever happened here,” Stephenson said. “Melinda and I would walk to the Highland Park to play ball,” Roberts recalls.  “We could do that then.”

    “Then this monster came to our hometown and did this; it changed our community,” Roberts said. “The little short period he was here free, he wreaked havoc on this community. He was like a bloodthirsty beast.”

“No Rehabilitation”

     Roberts and Stephenson say they doubt Fisher has been rehabilitated, despite spending more than 30 years in prison.

     “When he first started committing crimes, he started on a small level,” Roberts said, referring to Fisher’s long criminal history.  

    “Every time he got in trouble, he got slapped on the hand. With each new crime, he takes it the next plateau. With this, he took it to the ultimate. To me, you don’t rehabilitate a man when the crimes he’s committed have only gotten worse. You don’t rehabilitate a man who, when he looks at you, you see evil.”

    “There is no rehabilitation for someone like this, outside of a lobotomy,” Stephenson said.

     “He would be a menace to society,” said Carol Formby’s younger brother Lewis, who has started on online petition to fight Fisher’s parole and plans to be at the hearing Thursday.

    “I was 12 when it happened,” recalled Formby, who lives in California. “I think the biggest impact for me was seeing the stress on my parents, especially my mother.”

    “He was on parole in Georgia for rape,” Formby said of Fisher’s past. “I’m all for rehabilitating people, but I don’t see that he’s one of those people. I think he needs to stay where he is.”

    “I don’t care if he’s 60 years old, or 80,” Stephenson said. “A lot of people will say he’s not a threat anymore.”

    “The only time he will stop being a threat is when he’s gone,” Roberts said.

Community Support

    “It’s unreal how the community has supported us,” Roberts said. “We know we have our entire community behind us.”

    “Nobody’s forgotten about it,” Roberts says. “We’ve got friends that have moved across the country. Their lives have gone on. But when this comes up, we hear from people every where.”

     In addition to members of the Weathers and Formby families, Pat Rivers’ daughter plans to be at Thursday’s hearing, Stephenson said.

    The meeting is not open to the public, but the families are asking others who oppose the parole of Fisher to meet on the steps of the Lauderdale County Courthouse at xxxxx time Thursday.  

    “Last time (in 2011), we walked in the door with about 300 letters people had emailed to us,” Stephenson said. “That’s not including petitions and letters mailed to us.”

    “It was snowing; it was a horrible day,: she said. “But people came to the courthouse to support us; we were both in awe.”

    “After 32 years, people still care,” Roberts said.

    A petition will be available for those present to sign. Those unable to attend may e-mail a letter of opposition to melindagailweathers@gmail.com.

    Letters must include the following: Larry Fisher MDOC#41417  DOB:11/11/52

    Supporters can also sign the online petition at www.thepetitionsite.com/834/595/006/keep-larry-fisher-in-prison/

    

    The parole board will hear directly from Fisher sometime between November and his parole eligibility date in January, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.  

    When that will be exactly is to be determined, an agency spokesperson said last week.