Susan Smith seeks parole 30 years after killing sons

Susan Smith, convicted of killing her two sons in 1994, faces parole hearing amid public and legal opposition.

Susan Smith, convicted in 1995 of killing her two young sons by driving her car into a lake, will petition a South Carolina parole board for release on Wednesday. 

Now 53, Smith has served 30 years of her life sentence, making her eligible for parole hearings every two years under state law.

Smith plans to make her case remotely via video from prison, after which her ex-husband, David Smith, and the prosecutor from her trial will argue against her release. David Smith, father to 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, expressed strong opposition in an NBC interview, saying, “Thirty years is not enough,” and doubting her ability to rehabilitate.

Prosecutors at her trial argued that Smith killed her sons because a man she was having an affair with indicated that her children were an obstacle to their future. Smith initially claimed a Black man carjacked her with her children inside, a false narrative that fueled racial tensions. For nine days, she publicly pleaded for her children’s return, while authorities discovered inconsistencies in her story, ultimately leading to her confession.

Investigators re-created the crime, revealing the Mazda took six minutes to submerge. Smith’s sons were found in their car seats, with one child’s hand pressed against the window. Defense attorneys portrayed her as remorseful and mentally unstable, citing her father’s suicide and sexual abuse by her stepfather. The trial captivated national attention, coinciding with the high-profile O.J. Simpson trial.

Parole in South Carolina is granted in only 8% of cases, and opposition from victims’ families or prosecutors further diminishes the likelihood of approval. A two-thirds majority vote from the parole board is required for Smith’s release.

While in prison, Smith has faced scandals, including inappropriate relationships with guards and leaked communications with journalists and outsiders. She has expressed continued grief for her sons, writing in 2023 that she struggled emotionally on the anniversary of her youngest son’s birthday.

Smith’s case remains one of the most infamous in U.S. true crime history, with her upcoming parole hearing reigniting debates over justice, rehabilitation, and forgiveness.