Susan Smith’s Parole Request Denied Three Decades After Sons’ Drowning

Susan Smith, a 53-year-old South Carolina resident, had her initial parole request rejected on Wednesday, three decades after she confessed to drowning her two sons. Smith received a conviction for the deaths of her children, which occurred when she secured them in their car seats and allowed the car to submerge in a lake. The incident, which took place in 1994, garnered significant public attention. Having served 30 years in prison, Smith offered an apology to the seven-member parole board for the killings and sought her release. “I know what I did was horrible,” she said. “And I would give anything so I could change it.” Both the children’s father and the case’s prosecutor addressed the board, advocating for her continued incarceration. David Smith, the father of Michael and Alex, informed the parole board that a 30-year prison sentence did not constitute adequate retribution for Smith. “That’s only 15 years per child, her own children,” he said. “That’s just not enough.” During the trial, the prosecution contended that Smith murdered her three-year-old son Michael and one-year-old son Alex subsequent to a man, with whom she was involved in an affair, stating that her children prevented their future together. Prosecutor Tommy Pope stated that Smith had made a “horrible, horrible choice to choose a man over her family”. He added, “Susan has always focused on Susan.” Initially during the trial, Smith claimed she was carjacked late at night by a man who then drove off with her vehicle. Despite her public pleas for the safe return of her sons, they were located at the bottom of a nearby lake. However, she eventually admitted to the offense. Her defense attorneys asserted that she experienced a mental breakdown and intended to die with her children but exited the car at the final moment. Smith received a murder conviction, yet according to South Carolina law then in effect, she qualified for a parole hearing biannually once she had served 30 years in prison. To be released, Smith would require two-thirds of the attending board members to vote in her favor, as per the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.