John Jefferson
Background: Susan Smith attends her parole hearing on Nov. 20, 2024 (Law&Crime). Inset: The grave of Michael and Alex Smith at the Bogansville Methodist Church in West Springs, S.C., July 23, 1995. (AP Photo/Ruth Fremson, file)
Susan Smith, the woman who killed her two toddler sons and lied to the public about the way they died, appeared before a South Carolina parole board on Nov. 20 and was denied release.
Smith appeared via Zoom from the prison where she’s being held. Before she spoke, her attorney Tommy Thomas defended his client by claiming the murders for which Smith was convicted was a “mental health” issue, including postpartum depression following the birth of her younger son. He also said that his client was “truly remorseful” for the murders she committed in October 1994. As he closed his comments, Thomas said Smith “will never be able to forgive herself.”
When Smith was asked to speak, she was overcome with emotion as she apologized for her actions. After composing herself, she said, “I know that what I did was horrible, and I would give anything if I could go back and change it.” She also apologized for the waste of law enforcement resources as they searched for a suspect who did not exist and her children.
Smith was asked about the numerous infractions against her while she was in prison, which she admitted to, and she blamed “stupidity.” She added that she “grew up” during her incarceration and “learned from them.” When asked what the most important thing was that she learned, Smith answered, “That people are important, that forgiveness and love, that family is important, and decisions we make [don’t] just affect us, they affect the people that we love. And not to take things or people for granted.”
After Smith and her defenders spoke, her ex-husband David Smith and more of his family members and friends, as well as members of the prosecution team, spoke against Smith’s release. Tommy Pope, the original prosecutor spoke first, reminding everyone that the case was originally a death-penalty case. He said that if the original, fictional suspect had been guilty, he would have likely gotten the death penalty. If David Smith had been found guilty, he would have been facing the same penalty, he said.
Pope also pointed out that Susan Smith’s claim that the act was part of an aborted suicide attempt was unlikely based on the evidence. He concluded by asking the board to deny parole.
Kevin Brackett, another member of the prosecution team described the “global sensation” that grew from Smith’s lies, saying that “the entire country was in the grips of her lie and her treachery.” He also advocated for Smith remaining in prison, saying, “I don’t believe she should ever be released from jail until the last person who remembers Michael and Alex is dead. And that will not be in her lifetime. She should never be released, and she should not be released now.” Referring to David Smith, he added, “His hopes and dreams were dashed. I hope you dash hers today and every two years hereafter.”
Rebecca Smith French, the sister of David Smith and the boys’ aunt, described how much she’d looked up to Susan as a teenager, but had since lost trust and had trouble forming relationships since the murders. After French, David Smith’s uncle, Doug Smith grew emotional several times as he described how his nephew wanted to see the boys but was advised not to after they had been in the water for nine days.
David Smith was the last to speak, saying, “God gave us free choice. And she made free choice that night to end their life. This wasn’t a tragic mistake. It wasn’t something that she didn’t mean to do. She purposely meant to end their life.”
Thirty years ago, Smith drowned her sons — 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex — by strapping them into their car seats and rolling her vehicle into the John D. Long Lake. Knowing exactly where her children were, Smith went public, falsely claiming for more than a week that a Black man carjacked her with the boys still inside the vehicle. With her husband by her side, she pleaded for the safe return of her children.
After her story fell apart, Smith confessed that she was having an affair with a man who didn’t want children and that she was responsible for letting them drown. After going on trial for the double murder in 1995, she was handed a life sentence. However South Carolina State law at the time of her sentencing allows for parole after serving 30 years. She can now appear before a parole board every two years to request her freedom.
Smith’s ex-husband David Smith, the father of Michael and Alex, was in the courtroom to oppose Smith’s release. He told NBC’s “Today” Show, “They can’t let her out. Thirty years is just not enough. This wasn’t an accident. She deliberately killed Michael and Alex.”
“I don’t think she’ll ever be rehabilitated,” he added.
During her three decades in prison, Smith continued to grab headlines for her conduct. Former prosecutor Tommy Pope alleged that Smith gave out contact information for her ex-husband and other family members after a documentary filmmaker said he would pay her. She was also caught using illegal drugs and had multiple sexual affairs behind bars, including with former prison guard Alfred Rowe. Rowe told NewsNation in August that he also opposed Smith’s release, saying “she’s not really learned anything except how to do illegal things.”
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