Nov. 26, 2025
"NO MERCY FOR MONSTER MOM: SUSAN SMITH PAROLE HEARING REVISITED"
Reid Carter covers Susan Smith's parole hearing from last November that brought the 1994 case back into America's spotlight. Smith, serving life for drowning her sons Michael, three, and Alexander, fourteen months, begged for release after thirty years. Claimed God forgave her. Ex-husband David Smith testified against her, wearing photo of his dead boys on his lapel. Parole board unanimously denied. October 25, 1994, Smith strapped her sons in car seats, rolled car into John D. Long Lake, watched it sink for six minutes. Lied for nine days claiming Black man carjacked them. Confession revealed motive: boyfriend Tom Findlay didn't want kids. Next parole hearing 2026.
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Caalaruga Shark Media. Good morning, I'm Red Carter. Wednesday, November
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twenty sixth, twenty twenty five, just over a year ago.
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November twentieth, twenty twenty four, Columbia, South Carolina, Susan Smith
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appeared via zoom before the state Parole board first parole
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hearing after thirty years in prison. She cried begged for mercy.
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I know what I did was horrible. I would give
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anything to go back and change it. God has forgiven me.
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Across from her on video, David Smith, her ex husband,
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father of the two boys she murdered, wearing a photo
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of his dead son's pinned to his lapel, three year
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old Michael, fourteen month old Alexander. David struggled to speak,
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paused multiple times, composed himself. She had free choice that night.
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This wasn't a tragic mistake. She purposely meant to end
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their life. I've never felt any remorse from her. The
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Parole Board voted unanimous denied. Susan Smith will remain in prison.
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She's eligible again next year twenty twenty six. David vowed
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to return every hearing so their deaths don't go in vain.
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Thirty one years ago. October twenty fifth, nineteen ninety four,
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Susan Smith strapped her sons in their car seats, rolled
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her Mazda into John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina,
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stood on the shore, watched the car sink. Took six
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minutes for the water to fill the car drown her
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babies submerge completely. Then she ran to a nearby house,
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claimed a black man carjackedor took her boys. For nine days,
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she lied to America. I'm reed, Carter. This is celebrity
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trials today. Susan Smith, the drowning, the lie, the trial,
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and one year ago the parole hearing that denied her freedom.
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This is celebrity trials. October twenty fifth, nineteen ninety four,
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Tuesday night, Union, South Carolina. Small town population nine thousand, milltown,
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tight knit community, everyone knows everyone. Susan Smith, twenty three
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years old, was struggling, separated from her husband David, two
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young sons, Michael three, Alexander, fourteen months working as secretary
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at Conso Products, not making enough money, living with her mother,
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temporarily stressed, overwhelmed, but Susan had someone. Tom Finley, twenty seven,
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son of her boss, Wealthy, handsome, Susan was obsessed with him.
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They'd been seeing each other casually. Susan wanted more, wanted marriage,
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wanted a future. Eight eighteenth, One week before the murders,
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Tom Findley wrote Susan a letter, handwritten four pages, breaking
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up with her. The key passage, I don't want children.
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I've told you this. You have two beautiful boys, but
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I'm not ready to be a father. We have no
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future together. I'm sorry, but this has to end. Susan
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read that letter felt her world collapse. Without Tom. She
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had nothing, dead end job, two kids she couldn't afford,
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failed marriage, no prospects, no hope, no future. She made
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a decision the boys were the problem. If the boys
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were gone, Tom might want her back. She could start over,
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be free, be the person Tom wanted. October twenty fifth,
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around nine pm, Susan loaded Michael and Alexander into her
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nineteen ninety Burgundy Mazda Protege, strapped them in their car seats.
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Michael in front passed your seat, which was illegal but common.
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Alexander in the back. Both buckled. She told them they
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were going for a drive. Michael was excited, Alexander babbled.
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Neither had any idea what was about to happen. Susan
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drove to John D. Long Lake, remote area boat ramp,
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nobody around, dark, isolated. She'd been there before, knew the layout,
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knew the lake was deep. She parked at the top
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of the boat ramp, put the car in neutral, got out,
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released the parking brake. The car started rolling, slowly at first,
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then faster down the ramp toward the water. Susan watched
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the car hit the water, floated for a moment, then
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started sinking. The headlights stayed on underwater, glowing eerie. Michael
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woke up, started screaming, pounding on the window, Mommy, mommy.
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Susan could hear him, could see his face pressed against
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the glass, terrified, not understanding. Alexander was crying, still strapped
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in his car seat, too young to understand, just crying
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because his brother was screaming. The water rose covered the windows.
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The car tilted backward, nose going down first, kept sinking.
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The screaming stopped, the crying stopped. Six minutes from hitting
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the water to complete submersion, six minutes for the car
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to fill, for her babies to drown. Susan stood there,
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watched the entire thing, then she ran. She ran to
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a nearby house Monarch Mills area, about a mile and
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a half away. Banged on the door. Shirley McLeod answered,
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Susan was hysterical, sobbing, screaming, he took my kids, He
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took my babies. Shirley let her in, called nine one one.
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Susan told her story through tears. She'd been stopped at
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a red light at the intersection of Highway forty nine
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and Monarch Mills Road around nine pm. A black man
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jumped in her car, had a gun, told her to drive.
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She drove, He told her to stop, she did. He
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made her get out, then he drove away with her
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kids still in the car. Michael and Alexander gone. The
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description Susan gave blackmail mid twenties to early thirties, wearing
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dark clothes, knit cap that was it vague generic, but
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enough to trigger a massive search. Union County Sheriff's office responded,
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immediately set up roadblocks, issued bolo be on the lookout
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for Burgundy Masda protege with two white children inside and
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blackmail driver. Every black man in the area became a suspect.
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Susan appeared on local news then national news, tearful press conferences,
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begging for her son's return. Please bring my babies home.
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I love them, I need the whoever has them, please
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let them go. America rallied massive search volunteers, FBI, state police, helicopters, bloodhounds,
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search parties combing woods fields, abandoned buildings, checking every lead,
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every sighting, every tip. National media descended on union, CNN, ABC, NBCCBS.
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This was the story, missing children, desperate mother, dangerous black carjacker,
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crime narrative America couldn't resist. For nine days, Susan maintained
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the lie, gave interviews, cried on camera, pleaded for the
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safe return of Michael and Alexander, made missing persons, posters,
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organized vigils, played the devastated mother perfectly, but investigators were
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suspicious the story didn't add up. The intersection Susan described
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Highway forty nine and Monarch Mills Road. The traffic light
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didn't stay red that long, not long enough for someone
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to carjacker. Her timeline was off. Susan's behavior was off.
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She cried for cameras, but when cameras turned away, she
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stopped crying. Investigators noticed no tears when she thought nobody
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was watching. She wasn't helping the investigation refused polygraph initially
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changed details of her story. First she said the carjacker
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had a gun, then wasn't sure. First the carjacker said nothing,
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then he told her to drive. Inconsistencies piled up. November first,
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Sheriff Howard Wells held press conference. Said he believed Michael
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and Alexander were still alive, still in the Union area,
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but his tone was different. He looked directly at Susan,
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whoever has them, we will find you and we will
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bring those boys home. That night, Wells and FBI agents
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questioned Susan for hours, confronted her with inconsistencies, told her
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the polygraph showed deception, told her they knew she was lying.
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Susan broke three hours of entericgation, finally admitted there was
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no carjacker, no black man, no kidnapping. She killed them,
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drove the car into the lake, watched them drown, made
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everything up. November third, nineteen ninety four, Sheriff Wells held
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another press conference. National media present Susan Smith has been
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arrested and charged with two counts of murder. She has
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confessed to killing Michael and Alexander America was stunned. The
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grieving mother was the killer. The desperate pleas were lies.
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For nine days. She'd acted played victim while her son's
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bodies were decomposing at the bottom of John D. Long Lake.
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Divers recovered the car November third, still upside down, both
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boys still strapped in their car seats, drowned. Decomposed. Medical
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examiner confirmed they died from drowning. Death would have taken
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three to five minutes once water filled the car. Michael
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Daniel Smith three years old should be thirty four today.
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Should have graduated college, Should have a career, should have
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a family, Should be alive. Alexander Tyler Smith fourteen months old,
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should be thirty two today. Should have grown up with
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his brother. Should have memories of childhood, should have had
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a future, Should be alive. Susan Smith murdered them because
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her boyfriend didn't want kids, because she wanted to start over,
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because her sons were inconvenient. Make it make sense. July tenth,
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nineteen ninety five. Trial began Union County Courthouse, moved from
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Union to avoid pre trial publicity, but brought back due
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to defense motion. Judge William Howard presied. Solicitor Tommy Pope
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prosecuting David Bruck defending Susan, the evidence was overwhelming, Susan's confession,
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the car at the bottom of the lake with two
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dead boys still strapped in their seats, the Tom Findley letter,
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the timeline proving Susan lied, the witnesses who saw Susan's
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car driving toward the lake that night. Defense didn't dispute
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Susan killed her sons. Argued she was mentally ill, suicidal,
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intended to die with them, but at the last moment
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survival instinct kicked in. She got out of the car.
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Didn't mean for them to die alone. It was a
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suicide attempt gone wrong. Prosecution argued premeditation. Susan drove to
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that lake, deliberately, knew exactly what she was doing, put
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the car in neutral, got out, watched it sink, stood
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there for six minutes listening to Michael scream that's not
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mental illness, that's murder. The trial lasted two weeks. Testimony
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from dozens of witnesses. Union Care County Sheriff Howard Wells
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described the investigation, the lies, the confession, the recovery of
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the bodies. David Smith testified sobbed on the stand. Described
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his sons, Michael loved power Rangers, Alexander was just learning
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to walk. David had been at work when Susan killed them,
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came home to chaos. Believe Susan's carjacking story initially, then
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learned the truth. His wife murdered his children. Tom Findley
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testified confirmed he'd written the letter, confirmed he didn't want kids,
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said he never told Susan to kill her sons, never
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suggested it, just wanted to end the relationship. What Susan
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did was her choice, her decision, not his fault. Forensic
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evidence showed the car took six minutes to sink, six
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minutes of Michael's screaming, six minutes of Alexander crying, six
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minutes Susan stood on shore listening. That's not a suicide attempt,
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that's watching your children die. Defense called mental health experts ERTZ.
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Doctor Seymour Halleck testified Susan suffered from dependent personality disorder, depression,
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abandonment issues. Her stepfather sexually abused her as a teenager.
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Her father committed suicide when she was six. She'd attempted
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suicide herself multiple times. She was mentally fragile. That night
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she snapped. Prosecution countered with their own experts. Susan was depressed,
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but she knew right from wrong, new killing was illegal,
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knew what she was doing was murder. She chose to
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do it anyway. Mental illness doesn't excuse infanticide. July twenty second,
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nineteen ninety five. Jury deliberated two and a half hours,
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returned verdict guilty two counts of murder Michael Daniel Smith
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Alexander Tyler Smith. Now the penalty phase, life in prison
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or death penalty. Prosecution sought death. Two murders children, her
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own children, he meditated, aggravated, heinous, She deserves execution. Defense
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argued for mercy. She's mentally ill, abused as a child,
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attempted suicide, deeply remorseful, Spare her life, let her live
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with what she did. David Smith made victim impact statement,
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said he didn't want Susan executed, didn't want more death,
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wanted her to suffer in prison, wanted her to wake
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up every day knowing what she did. Death would be
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too easy. Life in prison was the real punishment. July
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twenty eighth, nineteen ninety five. Jury returned penalty verdict after
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two and a half hours of deliberation, life in prison,
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no death penalty. Why jury Foreman later said they believed
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Susan was mentally ill, that abuse and depression contributed, that
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execution wasn't appropriate, that David Smith's request for life imprisonment
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influenced them. Judge Howard sentenced Susan to life in prison
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with possibility of parole after thirty years. Under South Carolina
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law at the time, murder convictions before nineteen ninety six
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allowed parole eligibility after thirty years. If Susan had been
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convicted one year later after the law changed, she'd be
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ineligible for parole forever. Susan was transferred to Leath Correctional
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Institution Women's prison, maximum security, where she'd spend the next
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thirty years, and for thirty years, America wondered would they
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actually let her out. November twentieth, twenty twenty four, Wednesday Morning, Columbia,
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South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services Susan
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Smith's first parole hearing. South Carolina grants parole only eight
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percent of the time, even less for notorious cases, even
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less when prosecutors and victim's families oppose, but Susan qualified
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thirty years served technically eligible. The hearing was broadcast via zoom.
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Susan appeared on video from prison, fifty three years old,
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now gray hair, glasses looked older than her years prison
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ages you seven parole board members present. One recused herself.
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Geraldine Mero had been interim warden at a prison where
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Susan was housed. Potential conflict. Six members would decide. Susan's
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attorney spoke first. Tommy Thomas argued, this was a mental
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health case. Susan suffered untreated depression, was suicidal, not a
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cold blooded killer, just someone who broke who needed help,
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not prison. She's rehabilitated now poses no threat, deserves a
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second chance. Then Susan spoke, started to say, I'm very sorry,
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broke down sobbed head in her hands, took several moments
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to compose herself. Elf. I know what I did was horrible.
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I would give anything to go back and change it.
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I love Michael and Alex with all my heart. God
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has forgiven me. I asked that you forgive me too.
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The board asked questions, why did you lie about the
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black carjacker? I was scared. I didn't know how to
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tell the truth. Why did you waste law enforcement resources?
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For nine days? I panicked, I was in shock. I
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couldn't think straight. Do you accept responsibility? Yes? Completely. I
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did this. It's my fault. I live with it every day. Then,
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David Smith testified, wore a photo of his son's pinned
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to his lapel, Michael's smile, Alexander's baby face, thirty years dead,
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forever three and fourteen months. David struggled, voice breaking, paused, repeatedly,
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wiped tears, finally spoke, God gives us free choice. She
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made a choice that night to end their life. This
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wasn't a tragic mistake. She purposely meant to end their life.
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I've never felt any remorse from her. She's never expressed
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