( Image: Handout)
Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother convicted of drowning her two young sons nearly 30 years ago, is set for her first parole hearing on November 20. Smith, now 53, was sentenced to life in prison in 1995 after confessing to letting her car roll into a lake with her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, strapped in the backseat. Although she narrowly avoided the death penalty, her sentence included the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Smith’s parole hearing will be conducted virtually before the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services. Her chances for release are slim, as only about 8% of inmates eligible for parole in the state are granted it. Additionally, Smith’s case remains one of the most infamous in South Carolina’s history, and both the lead prosecutor and the family of the victims are firmly opposed to her early release.
Tommy Pope, the prosecutor in Smith’s trial and now the Republican Speaker Pro Tem of the South Carolina House, expressed his opposition to her parole. “The jury believed she got a life sentence and that’s what she should serve,” Pope said. He also criticized Smith’s behavior in prison, implying that she has not shown the remorse expected after such a crime. “She’s proven she’s only thinking about Susan Smith,” he added, to Fox News.
The case captured worldwide attention in 1994 when Smith initially claimed that her sons had been abducted by a Black carjacker near Union, South Carolina. She made emotional public appeals for their safe return, but after nine days of investigation, authorities began to question her story. Investigators found inconsistencies, including the improbability of carjackers taking the children but leaving Smith behind unharmed.
The turning point came when investigators realized the traffic light where Smith claimed her car had been stolen would not have been red unless another vehicle had been waiting to cross, which Smith said wasn’t the case. Under increasing pressure, Smith eventually confessed to driving her car to a boat ramp and letting it roll into the lake, with her two sons still strapped inside.
A recreation of the crime by investigators revealed that it took six minutes for the car to sink beneath the surface, while the boys remained trapped. Their bodies were later discovered in the submerged vehicle, one child’s hand still pressed against the window.
Prosecutors argued that Smith’s motivation for the crime stemmed from her affair with the son of a wealthy businessman, who reportedly did not want children. Despite the horrific nature of the crime, the jury decided against the death penalty, sentencing her to life imprisonment instead.
Smith’s trial became a national sensation, drawing parallels to the O.J. Simpson case, which was happening at the same time. Although her trial wasn’t televised, it became a landmark moment in true crime history.
As her parole hearing approaches, the nation will once again turn its attention to Susan Smith, and the families and communities affected by the tragedy will be watching closely to see if she is granted a chance at freedom after three decades behind bars.
