CRIME & COURTS

Susan Smith’s Parole Hearing Scheduled

South Carolina probation, pardon and parole board will hear high-profile case on November 20…

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A date has been set for the high profile parole hearing of convicted South Carolina child killer Susan Smith. The S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services (SCDPPS) has announced that Smith’s hearing – which is widely expected to go against her – has been scheduled for Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

Smith was convicted in July 1995 of killing her two sons, three-year-old Michael Smith and fourteen-month-old Alex Smith. The young mother strapped her boys into their carseats in the back of her burgundy Mazda sedan – and then let the vehicle roll off a boat ramp into the John D. Long lake five miles northeast of her hometown of Union, S.C.

On October 25, 1994 – the day of the murders – Smith told police a black man had carjacked her at gunpoint and driven away with her children still inside the vehicle. Over the next week-and-a-half, she made numerous impassioned pleas for their safe return.

“I wanna say to my babies that your momma loves you so much,” Smith told reporters at one press conference, fighting through tears. “You gotta be strong … I just know, I just feel in my heart that you’re okay. You’ve just gotta take care of each other.”

Support FITSNews … SUBSCRIBE!

***

The truth? Smith killed her children because she was pursuing an extramarital relationship with a man who didn’t want kids, according to prosecutors.

“There are some things about you which aren’t suited for me, and yes, I am speaking about your children,” the man wrote in a letter to Smith discovered in the submerged vehicle. “I’m sure that your kids are good kids, but it really wouldn’t matter how good they may be. The fact is, I just don’t want children.”

On November 3, 1994 – ten days after the alleged carjacking – Smith finally confessed to drowning her children. Shortly thereafter, divers with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) aquatic investigation and recovery team made the tragic discovery: The boys’ bodies were found still strapped in their carseats in the back of the burgundy Mazda approximately 122 feet from the shoreline of the lake.

“I was able to see a small hand against the glass,” diver Steve Morrow testified.

A jury took just two hours to find Smith guilty of the two murders – but declined to give her the death penalty. Current S.C. speaker pro tempore Tommy Pope – then serving as South Carolina’s sixteenth circuit solicitor – led the prosecution of Smith.

***

***

Pope sat down with our media outlet earlier this year to talk about the case… and his decision to seek the death penalty.

“I really felt that had there been the African-American carjacker, there would have been an outrage if I did not seek the death penalty,” he said. “If there had been David Smith, the father had taken the lives of the children, the same would have occurred. And so even knowing that in South Carolina, we rarely gave the death penalty to females. I just felt that whatever the maximum penalty was, I felt that she deserved that.”

Pope will participate in next month’s parole hearing, he said.

As the hearing date approaches, Smith continues to find herself in the news for all the wrong reasons. Most recently, she was the recipient of disciplinary sanctions from the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC) after speaking with a documentary filmmaker about her crimes.

SCDC has a longstanding policy disallowing inmates from conducting media interviews. This policy is “rooted in victims’ rights,” according to the agency – specifically the belief “victims of crime should not have to see or hear the person who victimized them or their family member on the news.”

Smith is not the only notorious familial killer to flout these rules. Last year, Alex Murdaugh – currently serving two life sentences for murdering his wife and younger son – was reprimanded in a similar case.

***

RELATED | SUSAN SMITH SANCTIONED AHEAD OF PAROLE HEARING

***

In 2000, Smith contracted a sexually transmitted disease while incarcerated. A subsequent investigation revealed two former S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC) personnel – a guard named Houston Cagle and a captain named Alfred Rowe – engaged in sexual relations with Smith while she was imprisoned and under their authority.

Smith has also allegedly engaged in sexual relationships with multiple female inmates, sources familiar with her imprisonment have told this media outlet.

South Carolina’s parole board is made up of seven members, each appointed by the governor and representing a different congressional district. After reviewing an inmate’s file, the parole board considers a number of criteria in making its decision — including an inmate’s record during their period of incarceration. For violent offenders whose offenses occurred after January 1, 1986, at least two-thirds of the members of the board must vote for parole to be granted.

In February of this year, we published an online poll asking whether Smith should be granted parole. A whopping 91 percent of respondents said “no.”

As Smith’s upcoming hearing date approaches, count on FITSNews to provide full coverage of these proceedings…

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Jenn Wood (Provided)

Jenn Wood is FITSNews’ incomparable research director. She’s also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she’s married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.

***

WANNA SOUND OFF?

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.

***

Get our newsletter by clicking here …

*****

Related posts

CRIME & COURTS

SLED Arrests Upstate Deputy For ‘Conducting Surveillance’ On Duty

FITSNews
CRIME & COURTS

Sources: South Carolina Sheriff Under Criminal Investigation

Andrew Fancher
CRIME & COURTS

Unsolved Carolinas: Leads Sought In Fatal 1998 Orangeburg Shooting

Jenn Wood

9 comments

Time To Forgive October 21, 2024 at 9:21 pm

Is she a danger to the community or b society at large? Likely not. Would I leave her in charge of my kids? He’ll no! Would I be in fear of my life or the lives of my family if she moved in next door to me? No.

She did a horrible thing, no doubt. I think she was mentally ill at the time. Transfer her to a mental health facility for evaluation and treatment. If everything checks out, let her go.

Who cares that she didn’t follow some bs rule about talking to a reporter?

Reply
River Top fan October 22, 2024 at 4:51 pm

Should you be let out if you drowned your children? How about if your spouse drowned your children to pursue an affair, would you be fine with your spouse getting parole?

Reply
Time To Forgive October 22, 2024 at 7:05 pm

Her spouse has moved on, remarried, and had more kids. He has lived his life. She has been locked away for thirty years. Her youth has gone. She has been punished. Time to let her go!

Reply
River Top fan October 22, 2024 at 9:27 pm

30 years is not enough time for murdering two children.

Reply
Squishy123 (the original) October 22, 2024 at 9:59 pm

It appears Time to Forgive is one of her penpal boyfriends hoping she’ll get let out so he can finally lose his virginity.

Reply
River Top fan October 23, 2024 at 6:36 am

Or some low life attorney.

Rebecca Shields Top fan October 22, 2024 at 8:55 am

After killing those 2 young boys she should never see the outside of the prison

Reply
Squishy123 (the original) October 22, 2024 at 9:52 pm

Having sat through several hundred parole hearings, I can guarantee you that she is never getting out. Several reasons from what I’ve seen. She committed a multiple murder. The victims were children. This is her first attempt at parole. She has to convince 4 of the 6 parole committee members to grant her parole. I’ve never seen an inmate convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping, or aggravated assault granted parole. The only way this parole board grants parole is if the inmate is at the end of his/her sentence (less than a year) or has been diagnosed with a terminal illness where their chance of survivability is less than a year. Susan, nice try, good to hear from you… we’ll see you in two years when you’re again eligible to come before the board.

Reply
Squishy123 (the original) October 23, 2024 at 9:54 pm

Put another way, there is 100% likelihood of her parole request being denied, this is all for show and following the law prior to December 1999 when violent crimes were allowed a chance at parole. All six board members will press Deny on their touch screen within 10 seconds of her victims appearance and/or statements. She’ll come on first, supposed to get no more than five minutes to state her case, then the victims will have a chance to speak. Once the room is cleared they’ll vote… I’ll be surprised if it takes more than 10 seconds for them to complete their vote. Over the past ten years, the parole board has granted parole in 6% of the cases presented, and the majority of those are drug offenses, shoplifting, and burglary.

Reply

Leave a Comment