Susan Smith Denied Parole 30 Years After Killing Her 2 Young Sons
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Susan Smith will remain behind bars.Â
Thirty years after killing her two young sons by drowning them in a South Carolina lake, the 53-year-old was denied parole in a unanimous decision by a South Carolina parole board on Nov. 20, according to CNN.
Before the parole board meeting, Susan expressed her regret over the murders of her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, saying she knows what she did “was horrible.”
“I would give anything if I could go back and change it,” she told the parole board via video, per the outlet. “I’m sorry. I know that’s not enough. I know they’re just words but they come from my heart.”
Susan is currently serving a life sentence for the 1994 crime. On Oct. 25 of that year, she had strapped her boys into their car seats and let the car roll into a lake near her home. She then told police that a man had carjacked her and kidnapped her children.
However, authorities were skeptical of her story and less than two weeks later she admitted to killing Michael and Alex. During her trial, prosecutors claimed that Susan was having an affair with another man, but that he had ended it because of her children. However, her attorney argued that she was suicidal and depressed, and had originally intended to kill herself as well.Â
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During her parole hearing, the board reminded Susan that her case took resources away from the community as they searched for her children, to which she responded, “I’m sorry that I put them through that.”
“I wish I could take that back, I really do. I didn’t lie to get away with it,” she added. “I was just scared. I didn’t know how to tell the people that love them that they’d never see them again.”
However, she believes she has made peace, saying, “I am a Christian and God is a big part of my life and I know he has forgiven me and I know that is by his grace and mercy. And I just ask that you show that same kind of mercy as well.”
E! News has reached out to Susan’s attorney for comment but has not heard back.
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Susan’s ex-husband and the children’s father, David Smith, was also present for the meetingâthey divorced in May 1995âand was joined by relatives, including his current wife Tiffany Smith, as he urged the board to deny parole.Â
“I’m not here to speak about what she’s done in prison. You all have the records and accounts of all that,” David began, per CNN. “I’m just here to advocate on Michael’s and Alex’s behalf and as their father.”
He was emotional as he added, “God gives us free choice, and she made free choice that night to end their lives. This wasn’t a tragic mistake. She purposely meant to end their lives. I never have felt any remorse from her. She never expressed any to me.”
He also expressed how he sees her victims as more than just their children.
“What she did not only to Michael and Alex,” he explained, “she came pretty close to causing me to end my life because of the grief she brought upon me.”
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The 54-year-old also said that he doesn’t believe Susan has served enough time, noting that 30 years is only “15 years per child.”
And as Susan is up for parole every two years going forward, David told the parole board, according to ABC News, “I will be here every two years going forward to ensure that their death doesn’t go in vain.”
Tommy Popeâwho was the original prosecutor in Susan’s 1995 caseâalso spoke out against granting her parole, telling the board, “Susan has always focused on Susan.”
“Susan made a horrible, horrible choice to choose a man over her family,” he said. “If she could have put David in the car, he would’ve been there, too.”
The now-state representative also feels that for the murder she committed, “that punishment has not been achieved yet.”
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