Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder. Reader Discretion is advised.
On October 25, 1994, a woman named Susan Smith informed the authorities that an unknown assailant had stolen her car. According to Smith, a Black man carjacked her, taking her vehicle with her two young kids still inside. Reports indicated that the news gained nationwide media attention, and Smith appeared on several news channels, appealing to people to locate her children.
When the investigation began, police realized that everything Smith said was a lie. Ultimately, she admitted she pushed the car into a lake with her children still sitting inside the vehicle. Smith went to trial for the crime and was found guilty. Subsequently, the court sentenced her to life imprisonment.
The New York Times reported that Susan Smith returned home after visiting a bar on October 25, 1994. Two hours later, she put her children back in the car and drove to a lake. The publication noted that the mother-of-two met one of her friends at around 9 p.m. and told her that a Black man had taken her kids away. The entire community stood beside her as she pleaded for help. However, the case took a U-Turn when authorities arrested Smith in November 1994 and charged her with two counts of murder. Per Los Angeles Times, the arrest warrant noted that she confessed to murdering her sons.
Investigators believed that the children were killed on the same day of their abduction. During the trial, prosecutors told the court that Susan Smith killed her children so that she could spend her life with her lover Tom Findlay. According to The New York Times, Findlay didn’t want to pursue a relationship with a woman who already had children. So, Smith killed her children.
The trial lasted five days and concluded with a guilty verdict. The outlet reported that the court sentenced her to life in prison. Currently, she is serving her sentence at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood, South Carolina. Per FOX News, Susan Smith will have her first parole hearing on November 4, 2024.
Is Susan Smith still in prison now & what is her release date?
As mentioned earlier, Susan Smith is still in prison and serving her life sentence in Greenwood, South Carolina. Initially, reports indicated that Smith might receive the death penalty for the murders. However, the jury rejected the death sentence and gave her life imprisonment.
According to FOX News, Smith plans to request her release at her first parole hearing scheduled to take place on November 4, 2024. Meanwhile, her ex-husband opposes her release and notes that he never wants to see Smith get out of prison. Although Susan Smith received a life sentence, her team of lawyers tried to prove that she had depression. However, after an assessment, a medical professional noted that she is legally competent to stand trial for the murder charges. Susan Smith later received a guilty verdict.
True crime series American Justice featured an episode based on the Susan Smith case. The episode is available for streaming on A&E Network.
