Susan Smith, the South Carolina woman who killed her kids and blamed a Black man, argues for parole: Live updates
Susan Smith, 53, was convicted of killing her two children in 1994
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A South Carolina mother who was convicted of killing her two children by rolling her car into a lake with the boys strapped in their car seats is up for parole after 30 years.
Susan Smith, 53, was convicted of murder in 1995 but the jury decided not to sentence her to death. Under state law at the time, she is eligible for a parole hearing every two years now that she has spent 30 years behind bars.
She will appear before a seven-member parole board via video feed from prison on Wednesday to plead for her freedom.
Smith made international headlines in October 1994 when she claimed she was carjacked by a Black man who she claimed drove away with her sons, Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months.
But investigators say the story didn’t add up and after nine days of Smith and her husband David pleading for the safe return of their children, Smith confessed to the murders.
A decision to grant parole requires a two-thirds vote of board members present at the hearing, according to the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
Parole in South Carolina is granted only about eight percent of the time and is less likely with an inmate’s first appearance before the board, in notorious cases or when prosecutors and the families of victims are opposed.
Susan has always only focused on Susan, prosecutor says
Tommy Pope, the prosecuting attorney in Smith’s case, told the parole board that “Susan has always only focused on Susan.”
He said that when jurors rejected the death penalty, they thought a life sentence meant the rest of her life and that they did not think she could be released after 30 years.
“They believed life was the greater punishment because she should have to reflect on what she did,” he said.
Joining him are about a dozen people, including daily members who are against Smith being granted parole.
She was not trying to commit suicide, she was trying to start a new life, another attorney said.
Susan Smith says she has learned from her mistakes
Smith, who has incurred several infractions while in prison, told the parole board that she has learned from her mistakes.
The board asked: “why should this board think that she’s going to follow the rules of society if you can’t follow the rules of the institution?”
“I made a lot of dumb choices. I’ve learned from my mistakes,” she said.
“I am a Christian and God is a big part of my life and I know he has forgiven me,” she said.
“I just ask that you show the same kind of mercy and yeah I guess that’s it.”
Susan Smith breaks down crying while asking to be freed
First, I want to say how very sorry I am,” she said as she breaks down sobbing.
“If I could go back and change it,” she continued.
“I love Michael and Alex with all my heart.”
‘Her desire is to make her life mean something’
Smith’s attorney says she does arts and crafts in prison as well as math tutoring.
He talked about her love of animals and how she wants to make something of her life.
“Her desire is to make her life mean something. Something other than the things she has done. To make a positive impact in her life.”
Smith’s attorney denies allegation that affair was motive for the murders
Smith’s attorney told the parole board that this case is “not about the love for a local man,” an allegation which has been reported by local outlets in recent months leading up to the hearing.
“What I have been able to determine, that is not true. This was never proven at trial and was abandoned by the state.”
He said that there were “multiple stress points that converged all at the same time” that led to the murders.
Thomas acknowledges the horrificness of crime.
Said her mental health issues began with the suicide of her dad and never was able to get help for her depression because of the stigma at the time.
She suffered severe depression, which included postpartum depression after the birth of her children.
‘This is a mental health hearing,’ Smith’s attorney says
This is a mental health hearing,” Smith’s attorney Tommy Thomas said during her parole hearing.
“It’s about the dangers of untreated mental health. It’s about stigmas.”
He said that it’s important to Susan that people understand there’s nothing to be ashamed of to reach out for help.
Thomas is listing her accomplishments while in prison.
Attorney for Susan Smith makes case for her release
Susan Smith appears with her attorney Tommy Thomas.
Thomas is making a case for her release.
Two supporters are on another feed.
Susan Smith’s case is being heard by the parole board
Smith will appear via video feed shortly.
Susan Smith’s ex-husband arrives at court
David Smith, Susan Smith’s ex-husband and father of their children, has arrived to her parole hearing, according to NewsNation’s Brian Entin who is at the courthouse in Georgia.
David has said that he does not believe 30 years is enough time and that she should not be set free.
David Smith just arrived to Susan Smith’s parole hearing.
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) November 20, 2024
He is her ex husband and the father of the boys she murdered.
He wanted the death penalty and now 30 years later has to see her again as she asks the South Carolina parole board to free her. pic.twitter.com/2WdqXjwQxM
Could Susan Smith go free?
Susan Smith’s parole hearing will be done virtually, according to the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.
Parole in South Carolina is only granted about 8 percent of the time and is less likely on an inmate’s first appearance before the board, in notorious cases, or when prosecutors and the families of victims are opposed, the Associated Press reported.
Smith falls in all of those categories.
Tommy Pope, the lead prosecutor in Smith’s trial who is now the Republican Speaker Pro Tem of the South Carolina House, said he plans to tell the parole board that when jurors rejected the death penalty, they thought a life sentence meant the rest of her life and that they did not think she could be released after 30 years.
Earlier this month, the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services confirmed to several news outlets that more than 127 letters have been submitted to their agency regarding Smith’s parole bid.
The letters are not publicly accessible, but a Smith family source told The New York Post that many of them are opposed to Smith’s potential release and are riddled with negative comments including one stating that Smith “belongs in that lake with her boys.”
