Killer mom Susan Smith has been denied parole by a unanimous vote after she sobbed and begged to be let out of prison on Wednesday.
Smith apologized for drowning her two young sons 30 years and and said she wished she could take it back.
But, true to form, she still refused to take full responsibility for her actions — blaming her recent conviction for trying to cash in on her infamy from prison on the documentary maker she was communicating with.
“I trusted the wrong person,” Smith said, referring to the filmmaker — but omitting the fact that she had asked the filmmaker for cash for her story.
She also claimed that previous convictions for misconduct behind bars were not her fault.
Attending the meeting remotely via Zoom, Smith, 53, told the board that she had lost touch with reality when she killed her sons, Alex and Michael, by strapping them in their car seats and letting them drown in a South Carolina lake.
“I am a Christian and I know that God has forgiven me,” Smith told the board, before begging the parole board to “show the same kind of mercy.”
As Smith wiped her tears with a tissue, she acknowledged the pain she had caused. “I want to say how very sorry I am,” she said.
Smith’s attorney told the board that the prosecution was wrong about her alleged motive. “This is a mental health story,” he said. “This was not about another man. She was mentally ill.”
The only other people who were present to support Smith were her pastor and his wife.
But prosecutor Tommy Pope told the board that Smith’s actions were “calculated” and she caused immeasurable pain to those who knew her children.
“She should not be released until every living person who remembers Michael and Alex is dead — and that won’t happen in her lifetime.
Smith’s ex husband, David, also addressed the board and noting that 30 years was not a long enough punishment. “That’s only 15 years per child. Her own children,” he said. “That’s just not enough. I’m asking that you deny her parole today and hopefully in the future.
Smith has spent 30 years in prison since receiving her life sentence for the 1994 incident. This is her first parole hearing.
She will be able to reapply for parole in November 2026.
