ALBANY — At 16, Jah-Lah Vanderhorst was caught on video fatally stabbing 17-year-old Albany High School track star Tyler Rhodes in the heart in Hoffman Park.

On Monday, state Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch paved the way for the killer to be free within three years.

In a decision that stunned Albany County prosecutors, surprised the defendant's own lawyer and even took an swipe at state correction officers, the judge cut in half Vanderhorst's 25-year prison sentence for first-degree manslaughter for stabbing Rhodes to death on April 30, 2011.

In his decision, the judge scolded District Attorney David Soares' office.

"The (prosecution's) conscious election to disregard defendant's age (16) reflects a one-dimensional view to lock the defendant up and throw the key away," Lynch wrote, calling it a "non-progressive approach (that) conflicts with the advancement of societal goals to incorporate a true substantive analysis of a defendant's age when determining whether to grant youthful offender status."

Soares said he would appeal the judge's decision, which came after the region's appellate court and and another judge rejected efforts by Vanderhorst to get a new trial or be adjudicated a "youthful offender," which would have sealed his case and subjected him to no more than four years in prison — a decision that would have warranted his immediate release.

Lynch, who has earned a reputation for leniency since taking the bench in 2013 at the county level, essentially disregarded Vanderhorst's prison disciplinary record, which includes 12 violations — five of them violent incidents that required transfer to a special housing unit.

Lynch's decision stated that Vanderhorst's "noncompliance reflects the fundamental problem with placing a youth in a maximum-security correctional facility in the first instance. It does not mean defendant cannot reintegrate into society as a law-abiding citizen."

The judge also criticized the process through which convicts are sanctioned.

"Notably, disciplinary hearings are supposed to be conducted in an 'impartial manner' but are presided over by corrections officers, who merely need to 'affirm' the charge to impose a sanction," Lynch wrote. He said the hearings are supposed to be electronically recorded, adding, "The (prosecutors) have not submitted the recordings, so this court has no way of determining whether the disciplinary proceedings were fair. Accordingly, this court affords little weight to the significance of the claimed violations."

After Monday's decision, Soares called Lynch an "outlier judge" who did not credit the records of probation and correction officials.

"I'm very concerned about the message that you're sending the youth of our community when the life of a young man is only worth 12 1/2 years," Soares said.

Soares said in separate statement that not only do prosecutors disagree with Lynch's decision but "also its findings of facts and assessment of the defendant's character."

Here's Lynch's full decision:

Vander Horst decision by cseiler8597 on Scribd

The judge said in his ruling that he has observed Vanderhorst "express true remorse and sorrow for his actions" on the day of the killing.

Lynch, noting Vanderhorst was 16 at the time of the crime, called the 25-year sentence "unduly severe."

The victim's mother, Stacey Rhodes-Sofer said on Monday, "It's Judge Lynch's court, Judge Lynch's decision."

When asked if justice had been served, she took a heavy breath and said, "No. No. I just pray that Judge Lynch made the right decision. I just want peace."

Vanderhorst's lawyer Thomas Gabriels said outside court that his client could be out of prison in two or three years. He had argued that 16-year-olds do not have fully developed brains and are prone to make rash decisions.

Asked why Vanderhorst specifically should be let out of prison early, Gabriels said, "I don't have an answer to that question."

Gabriels acknowledged he was surprised by the ruling. "I expected a little bit (of a reduction)," he said. "I didn't expect this much."

He said there are "moral quandaries in defending folks like this. It's not an easy thing to do — and you can't get around the fact that he did, in fact, kill another human being."

Soares' office had opposed any effort to cut Vanderhorst's sentencing as well as his request to be deemed a youthful offender.

Lynch's decision follows appearances in court on Friday by Vanderhorst and Rhodes' family.

At that proceeding, Vanderhorst pressed his case that he should be deemed a youthful offender and have his criminal record sealed. He has been serving his time in maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility.

At Friday's proceeding, he apologized to the Rhodes family and Rhodes' sister, Denise, who was 13 at time of her brother's slaying, for having to grow up without her brother.

"I want you to know that I have never had enough hate in my heart to want to kill your brother," Vanderhorst said.

Dhoruba Shuaib, now 27, blocked Rhodes' movements before Vanderhorst stabbed him. He is serving a 21-year sentence at Eastern Correctional Facility in Ulster County for first-degree manslaughter.