Columbia, S.C. Susan Smith, who stunned the country thirty years ago when she slid her car into a lake while her two kids were inside and watched them drown, will request her release from prison on Wednesday.
Smith will give a virtual testimony to the panel of seven people, explaining why she feels prepared to return to society. For the board to release her, parole must be approved by a simple majority vote.
Susan Smith made headlines across the world over 30 years ago on this day when she claimed that a Black man had carjacked her late at night in the vicinity of Union, South Carolina.
She informed authorities that her 3-year-old son Michael and her 14-month-old son Alex were inside the car when the man drove off. Smith and her estranged husband, David Smith, begged for their safe return on national television during the nine-day manhunt that followed her revelation.
As a mother, it is only natural to want to protect your children from harm. Susan Smith stated on NBC’s “TODAY” show that the hardest part of this whole situation is not knowing if your children are getting what they need to survive, and it hurts. This case garnered a lot of media attention.
Hours after the interview on Nov. 3, 1994, Smith told police she had killed her sons by letting her car roll into a local lake while the boys were inside and watching them die.
Prosecutors said at Smith’s trial the following year that she killed her sons because she had a connection with a wealthy guy who divorced her because he didn’t want children. Smith’s lawyers contended that she was having a mental breakdown and had been sexually assaulted by her stepfather when she killed her sons.
Despite prosecutors’ calls for the death penalty, she was found guilty of murder and given a life sentence by the jury.
Smith, 53, has been incarcerated in South Carolina for thirty years, during which he has been subject to numerous disciplinary actions. In 1997, she committed her first transgression when she was found in possession of a razor, which was illegal.
After two prison guards admitted to having sex with her in 2000, she was transferred from the Women’s Correctional Center. According to Richland County criminal court documents, after an inquiry into the behavior of prison guards, Lt. Houston Cagle and Capt. Alfred R. Rowe Jr. were found guilty of having sex with an inmate.
Smith was confined to her cell for forty-five days the next year after breaking the rules by failing to stand for count. According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, she was punished for using narcotics, including marijuana, in 2010 and 2015 by being placed in disciplinary detention and losing her canteen privileges.
Smith, who spoke with a documentary filmmaker in August, was found guilty of an internal disciplinary complaint last month. Smith talked extensively about the crime and what happened before and after it happened, according to the incident report. She even went into detail about what was in the car’s trunk when it went into the water and her plans to jump from a bridge while holding the boys, but one of them woke up. Inmate Smith is making money off of her crime.
For ninety days, she was deprived of her phone, tablet, and canteen privileges.
Smith has persisted in arguing for her rights while incarcerated.She wrote: Something went extremely wrong that night in a letter to South Carolina’s State newspaper in 2015. I wasn’t myself. I loved my boys and I was a decent mother. Since it wasn’t even a planned event, there was no motivation. I am not the monster society believes me to be, and I was not in my right mind.
On November 4, Smith qualified for parole under state law. Based on publicly available data, around 8% of violent criminals are granted parole by the board. The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services received 471 letters about Smith’s hearing as of Monday. Of the letters, only six supported her release.
Willie Rice, a juror who served during her trial thirty years ago, stated on Tuesday that Smith had “done her time.”
“The one thing that has always stuck in my head is would I be able to except her back in society , a question the prosecutor at the time asked before I became a juror,” Rice stated. “My answer is still yes.”
Michael and Alex’s father, David Smith, who is now her ex-husband, stated that he will speak to the parole board on Wednesday to protest her release. Tommy Pope, a current state representative from South Carolina and a former lead prosecutor, is also anticipated to voice opposition.
I firmly believe that the death sentence was appropriate, Pope recently told The State. He has stated that he thinks the jury was unaware that Smith would be eligible for parole if he received a life sentence.
Smith’s prison record indicates that she has only learnt how to use illegal drugs, according to the former prison guard who was found guilty of having sex with her in 2000, who recently told NewsNation.
Smith would need to fulfill pre-release requirements pertaining to work, housing, programming, and detainers if she were given parole. She has two years to reapply if her release is denied.
Note: Thank you for visiting our website! We strive to keep you informed with the latest updates based on expected timelines, although please note that we are not affiliated with any official bodies. Our team is committed to ensuring accuracy and transparency in our reporting, verifying all information before publication. We aim to bring you reliable news, and if you have any questions or concerns about our content, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!