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Convicted killer leaves prison

New York Convicted killer Joel Steinberg left prison on Wednesday, focusing attention once again on a crime that nearly 17 years ago shocked this city and came to symbolize the problem of child abuse nationwide. The 63-year-old former lawyer climbed into a white stretch limousine outside the Southport Correctional Facility in Pine City and drove off with a caravan of reporters and photographers in pursuit. Once in Manhattan, Steinberg switched vehicles and was taken to a halfway house where, looking anxious, he stumbled up the front steps. On five occasions, a parole board had rejected Steinberg’s bid for early release – saying he had shown little or no remorse for beating his 6-year-old adopted daughter, Lisa, to death. But authorities were required to parole Steinberg after he served two-thirds of his 25-year manslaughter sentence because he had displayed good behavior while incarcerated. Conditions of his parole include performing community service, attending drug counseling and anger-management classes and observing a curfew.