A man with a violent criminal past, released on parole after a lenient plea deal, is accused of fatally stabbing an 18-year-old in Georgia. The case reignites debate over parole policies and public safety. The Georgia parole system is under scrutiny after 48-year-old Delano Middleton allegedly stabbed and killed J.T. Schroeder, 18, at a Savannah Walmart on October 23.
Police said Schroeder was stabbed “during an altercation” after reportedly kicking Middleton’s shopping cart. The Chatham County Police Department confirmed Schroeder died four days later. Middleton now faces a murder charge.
Middleton’s violent history dates back to a 2021 attack on Erica Young, a U-Haul employee in Savannah. Young told WTOC that Middleton walked into the store, stole keys, and then stabbed her multiple times in the stomach and head without provocation. “When I was on the ground, he told me that he wanted to watch me bleed out,” Young recalled. She said she had never met him before the assault.
In December 2023, Middleton reached a plea deal for aggravated assault, serving just two years in prison followed by eight years of probation. Young called the sentence “too lenient,” saying, “He got away with the stabbing of me, so he thought he could get away with it again.”
Schroeder, described in his obituary as someone who “had a smile that could light up any room,” dreamed of becoming a merchant marine and donated his organs to seven families. His death has raised new questions about judicial accountability and the risks posed by early release decisions within the Georgia parole system.
