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Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009

Parole rescinded for woman found guilty of 1974 Bibb County murders

Parole has been granted — and rescinded — for a woman serving a life sentence after being convicted in the 1974 Bibb County killings of her ex-husband and his wife.

Rebecca Machetti, 71, was granted parole with the condition that she be placed on electronic monitoring and “intensive supervision,” according to a letter sent to the victims’ family members in July.

But when contacted Friday, Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles spokeswoman Scheree Moore said “at this time, she’s not going to be paroled.”

Machetti, also known as Rebecca Akins Smith, initially was sentenced to death, but her sentence was changed to life in prison in 1983. For a while, Machetti was the only woman on Georgia’s death row.

Moore said parole can be rescinded at any time before a person walks out the door.

“There are a number of reasons,” she said.

Parole can be rescinded because an inmate doesn’t have a valid plan for where they will live once released. If an inmate is planning to go to a nursing home that meets the conditions of release, parole can be rescinded if a room isn’t available, Moore said.

Inmates also can be kept in prison if electronic monitoring is a condition of release and monitoring isn’t available, she said.

Moore said she couldn’t divulge reasons why Machetti was granted parole or why her parole was rescinded.

The board will review Machetti’s case at some point in the next eight years, Moore said.

She is being held at Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville, according to Georgia Department of Corrections records.

Machetti, her husband, John Eldon Smith, and John Maree of Florida were convicted of murder in 1975 for the deaths of newlyweds Ronald and Juanita Akins.

The Akinses were found shot to death in a secluded area of Bibb County.

Maree testified that Rebecca Machetti masterminded a plot to poison Ronnie Akins, but John Eldon Smith fired the shots. Machetti wanted her ex-husband killed for a $20,000 life insurance policy.

John Smith, also known as Anthony Machetti, was sentenced to death and was the first person to be executed when Georgia resumed executions in 1983.

Rebecca Machetti was granted a new trial in 1982. The new jury recommended mercy, and she was sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences.

Maree, who testified for the prosecution, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison. He was released on parole in 1987.

Information from The Telegraph’s archives was included in this report. To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398.