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 has been denied 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 appeared before a seven-member parole board via video feed from prison on Wednesday to plead for her freedom.
“First, I want to say how very sorry I am,” Smith said as she broke down sobbing. “I know what I did was horrible and I’d do anything to go back and change it.”
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 then husband David pleading for the safe return of their children, Smith confessed to the murders.
David spoke against granting her release on Wednesday.
“I’m here to advocate on Michael and Alex’s behalf as their father,” he told the parole board. “God gives us free choice. She made this choice. This wasn’t a tragic mistake. She purposely meant to end their lives.”
KEY POINTS
- What we know about the ‘Killer mom’ case
- Susan Smith parole hearing to start shortly
- What to expect at Susan Smith’s parole hearing
- Susan Smith’s ex-husband talks about his fears ahead of killer’s parole hearing
Susan Smith parole hearing to start shortly
14:52 , Andrea CavallierFollow along for live updates as Susan Smith pleads for her freedom.
The South Carolina woman was convicted of killing her two children in 1994 by rolling her car into a lake with the boys still strapped inside their car seats.
A jury convicted Smith of murder but 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.
Her parole hearing is expected shortly.
What to expect at Susan Smith’s parole hearing?
14:59 , Andrea CavallierSusan Smith, 53, will appear before a seven-member parole board via video feed from prison on Wednesday to plead for her freedom.
Then she will go offline, and her ex-husband and father of the children, as well as the prosecutor at her murder trial, will argue that she remains incarcerated.
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 Smith drowned her children in a lake then made up a story about being carjacked by a Black man. 30 years later, she’s up for parole
15:01 , Andrea CavallierSusan Smith has been behind bars for nearly 30 years after she rolled her car into a South Carolina lake, drowning her two young sons who were strapped in their car seats.
She made international headlines in October 1994 when she said she was carjacked late at night near the city of Union and that a Black man drove away with her sons inside.
The claims by Smith, who is white, played into a centuries-old racist trope of Black men being a danger to white women and stoked concerns about crime that were prevalent in 1990s America and remain so today.
For nine days, Smith made tearful pleas asking that Michael and Alex be returned safely.
The whole time, the boys were in Smith’s car at the bottom of nearby John D. Long Lake.
Andrea Cavallier reports:
Susan Smith drowned her children in a lake. 30 years later, she’s up for parole
Susan Smith’s ex-husband talks about his fears ahead of killer’s parole hearing
15:10 , Andrea Cavallier‘30 years is not enough’
15:22 , Andrea CavallierFor the last 30 years, Susan Smith has served a life sentence behind bars after a jury convicted her of murder for strapping her two young sons into the backseat of the car before putting it into a lake.
But her ex-husband, David Smith, says it’s not enough.
“30 years is just not enough,” David told the TODAY show.
“This wasn’t an accident. She deliberately killed Michael and Alex.”
Read more:
Susan Smith’s ex pleads for her to remain in prison for the murder of their kids
Could Susan Smith go free?
15:56 , Andrea CavallierSusan 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.”
Susan Smith’s ex-husband arrives at court
16:06 , Andrea CavallierDavid 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.
Susan Smith’s case is being heard by the parole board
16:43 , Andrea CavallierSmith will appear via video feed shortly.
Attorney for Susan Smith makes case for her release
16:45 , Andrea CavallierSusan Smith appears with her attorney Tommy Thomas.
Thomas is making a case for her release.
Two supporters are on another feed.
‘This is a mental health hearing,’ Smith’s attorney says
16:49 , Andrea CavallierThis 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.
Smith’s attorney denies allegation that affair was motive for the murders
16:59 , Andrea CavallierSmith’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.
‘Her desire is to make her life mean something’
17:05 , Andrea CavallierSmith’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.”
Susan Smith breaks down crying while asking to be freed
17:07 , Andrea CavallierFirst, 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.”
Susan Smith says she has learned from her mistakes
17:18 , Andrea CavallierSmith, 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 has always only focused on Susan, prosecutor says
17:31 , Andrea CavallierTommy 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.
Aunt of slain boys sobs as she asks to keep Susan Smith in prison
17:40 , Andrea CavallierDavid Smith’s sister talks about how much the boys’ murders affected their lives.
She reads a letter to the parole board talking about how much she loved and trusted Susan.
She said she has since suffered with trust issues and depression and trauma.
While taking scuba diving lessons as a way to keep moving forward in life, she had a moment where she realized what her nephews had endured and the horrific circumstances.
The moment of going underwater triggered a flashback on how scared the children must have been when they were drowned, she said as she broke down in tears.
David Smith is now speaking ‘It’s been a tough 30 years'
17:49 , Andrea Cavallier“It’s been a tough 30 years. I’m not here to speak about what she’s done in prison. I’m here to advocate on Michael and Alex’s behalf as their father.”
“God gives us free choice. She made this choice. This wasn’t a tragic mistake. She purposely meant to end their lives.”
When talking about her 30 years in prison, he says: “Ultimately to me that’s only 15 years per child. Her own children. It’s just not enough. So I just ask you please, do not give her parole today.”
“I miss them very much and I love them very much and I will be here every two years going forward to ensure that their death doesn’t go in vain.”
Susan Smith has been denied parole
17:54 , Andrea CavallierMinutes after her ex-husband spoke at her hearing, Susan Smith was denied parole.
Decision was one Smith’s ex-husband ‘hoped for’
18:31 , Andrea CavallierThe board’s decision was the one David Smith had hoped for, he said in a news conference following the hearing.
“In two more years, we’ll go through this again,” he said. “But at least I know, for now, she’ll still be behind bars.”
The family and prosecution had been “cautiously optimistic," former prosecutor Tommy Pope said, because Susan Smith has continually demonstrated that it’s “always been about Susan.”
“I believe Susan is the same woman she was 30 years ago when she laughed in the courtroom when the jury wasn’t in and cried as soon as the jury comes in,” Pope said.
