DA speaks out after Massachusetts man apprehended in New York to be released on parole after Bay State killing

NATICK – The state parole board has granted parole to an adult man convicted of First-Degree Murder in connection with a 1992 fatal shooting in Brockton, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has announced.

In a Parole Board decision released today, Nathaniel Harbin, 53, is set to be released to a Long-Term Residential Program. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office submitted a letter in opposition of Harbin’s release at his May 21st parole board hearing.

On November 22, 1992, then 20-year-old Harbin fatally shot the victim 21-year- old Travis Powell with a double-barreled shotgun inside a Brockton house. The victim died almost immediately. Harbin was apprehended almost two years later in New York.

On November 14, 1997, after a jury trial in Plymouth Superior Court, Harbin was found guilty of First-Degree Murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. During his sentencing on the same date, Harbin assaulted the Assistant District Attorney, and was criminally charged, resulting in an additional six- month sentence to be served concurrently with his life sentence.

In February 1999, Harbin received a disciplinary report for the non-fatal stabbing of another incarcerated individual. For that, he was sentenced to five years to five years and one day to be served from and after his governing offense.

Harbin was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. In 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling in Commonwealth v. Mattis determined that life without the possibility of parole sentences are unconstitutional as applied to “emerging adults” between the ages of 18 and 20.

“As district attorney, I will always speak up for murder victims like 21-year-old Travis Powell, who no longer have a voice,” DA Cruz said. “We will continue to oppose the release of violent criminals who ignore our laws and have forever harmed innocent people in our communities.”

Two Parole Board members voted to deny parole to Harbin, with a review in two years. In their decision to grant parole, the board wrote, “Mr. Harbin has been engaged in individual therapy since 2018. His therapist testified as to his remarkable psychological insight, growth and self-understanding, and his internalized pro-social concern for others.”