Susan Smith is on parole 30 years after drowning her children in a South Carolina lake

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Susan Smith will be up for parole next month, nearly 30 years after she was convicted of plunging her car into a South Carolina lake and drowning her two children who were strapped into their seats.

Smith, 53, is serving a life sentence after a jury decided not to sentence her to death at her 1995 murder trial. Under the law at the time, she could ask for release after serving 30 years in prison.

Smith’s hearing is scheduled for Nov. 20, the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services said Monday. Parole hearings are held virtually in South Carolina, with the inmate participating via video call from prison.

Parole in South Carolina is only granted about 8% of the time and is less likely at an inmate’s first appearance before the board, in high-profile cases or when prosecutors and victims’ families object. Smith falls into all of these categories.

“The jury believed she was sentenced to life in prison and that’s what she should serve,” said Tommy Pope, the lead prosecutor in Smith’s trial and now the Republican speaker pro tem of the South Carolina House.

“Secondly, I would point to her conduct in prison to show, unfortunately, what a juror expected to happen, that she would feel remorse and think about those children. She proved that she only thinks about Susan Smith,” Pope said.

Smith made international headlines in October 1994 when she said she was kidnapped late at night near the town of Union and that a man drove away with her children inside. Smith, who is white, said the car thief was black.

For nine days, Smith made numerous, sometimes tearful pleas for 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex to be returned safely.

But the entire time, the boys and Smith’s car were at the bottom of nearby John D. Long Lake, authorities said.

Investigators said Smith’s story didn’t make sense. Car thieves usually just want one vehicle, so investigators asked why they let Smith out but not his children. The traffic light where Smith said he stopped when his car was taken would only turn red if another car was waiting to cross and Smith said there were no other cars around. And other parts of the story didn’t make sense.

Smith confessed to letting his car go down a boat ramp and into the lake. A recreation by investigators showed that the Mazda took six minutes to dive below the water’s surface, while cameras inside the vehicle showed water entering the air vents and rising steadily. The boys’ bodies were found hanging upside down from car seats, a small hand pressed against a window,

Prosecutors said Smith was having an affair with the rich son of the owner of the company where she worked. He ended it because she had two young children and Smith decided that was how she would resolve the issue.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty and the young mother’s trial became a national sensation and a true crime landmark, even though it was not televised by a judge who cared about what the cameras were doing to her murder trial. OJ Simpson that was happening at the same time. . A jury convicted Smith but decided she did not deserve the death penalty.

Smith’s lawyers said she was remorseful, suffering a mental breakdown and intended to die alongside her children, but abandoned the car at the last moment.

Smith’s 30 years in prison were also eventful. South Carolina prison rules do not allow interviews to be broadcast, but Smith frequently writes to reporters, true crime aficionados and potential suitors who then speak publicly about the letters.

She unsuccessfully tried to appeal the conviction, saying her husband David Smith abused her. He vehemently denied it and authorities said there was no proof.

“For the next 30 years – again, it’s hard to believe it happened so quickly – she had sex with guards. She has gained attention for her social media opportunities. She has sugar daddies who can’t wait until she gets out to help support her,” Pope said.

Pope said David Smith plans to join him in opposing his ex-wife’s parole.

In an interview with Court TV, David Smith said he struggles to remember his children. He said that although he forgave Susan Smith, that doesn’t take away the fact that she killed her children and deserves to spend more than 30 years in prison for it.

“You have no idea how much damage you’ve done to so many people,” David Smith said in the Court TV interview. “In my capacity, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you stay behind bars.”

Pope 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 didn’t think she could be released after just 30 years.

Pope hopes Susan Smith will present her own argument to the parole board. He thinks she will try to use the same sympathy and difficulty in believing that a mother would do something like that to her children to convince the board to grant him parole.

“She’s been rehearsing what she’s going to say to the parole board for 30 years,” Pope said.