OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:52 PM – Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Susan Smith, a South Carolina mother who murdered her two sons, has been denied parole after 30 years behind bars.
On Wednesday, Smith sobbed and begged to be let out of prison, but was denied the chance to do so.
Smith still refused to accept full responsibility for her actions, blaming others for her decisions.
Smith’s request was denied immediately by the South Carolina Board of Paroles, which consists of seven members. However, she will now be able to apply for parole every two years, which means that the family of her murdered sons, Alex and Michael, will have to show up to fight her request if they want her to remain in prison.
Smith has been disciplined several times in prison, including two separate sexual encounters with corrections officers, incidents of self-harm, marijuana possession, and most recently, for providing contact information for family and her ex-husband to a documentary producer.
The killer mom later blamed the documentary producer, saying, “I trusted the wrong person” — but proceeded to omit the fact that she had asked the producer for cash and other compensation for her story.
She also claimed that her convictions for misconduct behind bars were not her fault.
During the meeting, she told the board that she had lost touch with reality when she killed Alex and Michael, which she did by strapping them in their car seats and letting them drown in a South Carolina lake in 1994.
“I am a Christian and I know that God has forgiven me,” Smith told the board, before begging the panel to “show the same kind of mercy.”
As Smith wiped her tears with a tissue, she said: “I want to say how very sorry I am.”
“I know that what I did was horrible. And I would give anything if I could go back and change it,” an emotional Smith told the parole board. “I love Michael and Alex with all my heart.”
Meanwhile, Smith’s attorney advocated on her behalf, arguing that she was involved in mentoring other inmates and has even worked towards an associate’s degree in “Christian counseling.”
“She is making something of herself,” attorney Tommy Thomas told the court, noting that if Smith were released, she’d move in with her brother.
Thomas also told the board that the prosecution was wrong about her alleged motive.
“This is a mental health story,” he said. “This was not about another man. She was mentally ill.”
Prosecutor Tommy Pope told the board that Smith’s actions were “calculated” and caused untold pain to those who knew her children.
Additionally, an anonymous prison employee told The New York Post that she was angry, crying, and ranting about the hearing to her friends on the inside.
“She was pissed,” the employee said.
Smith has been in prison for 30 years, serving a life sentence for the 1994 crime. This marked her first parole hearing. She will be eligible to reapply for parole in November 2026.
