Susan Smith denied parole

Hard to believe, but it's been thirty years since Susan Smith was convicted for the murder of her two young sons in 1994. This week she was eligible for parole for the first time and was denied. Good.

 

I've seen footage of Susan at her hearing and I have to say it gave me flashbacks to her performances at the time of the crime. The non-existent tears (you'd think she'd have figured out how to work up actual tears by now), the self-pity, the apparent lack of true remorse for her actions. She just wants out of prison. She claims to be Christian now and while I have my doubts, that's between her and God. But it was tough to listen to her state that God forgave her for her actions and she hoped the parole board would feel the same way. I mean, it's like nothing's changed. Thirty years in prison and she's the same person who offed her kids in the hope that the rich guy in town would marry her and solve her money problems.

 

"Tearful."

One of the things that really sticks in my mind during that period is finding out not only that she had been arrested for murder, but had admitted to it. I worked at an office in West Los Angeles and that day was a co-worker's birthday, so a bunch of us took her to lunch, and that lunch ran long. We finally got back to the office and shortly thereafter the news broke, and what I remember most is how angry everyone was. We had a lot of young (20's-30's) women in the office and a number of them had very young children, and none of us could fathom how someone could do that to her own children. People were pissed, and it wasn't just us - that was the prevailing response to the horrible news of what Smith had done to her sons.

I don't know what she thought would happen after she let that car, with her children strapped into the back seat, roll into John D. Long Lake. My guess is that she thought everyone would feel sorry for her, especially (hopefully) the guy she'd been dating who'd broken off with her because he didn't want the baggage of someone else's children (my guess - there were other issues and that was a convenient excuse). Some time would pass and eventually the car would be found, and everyone would assume that the "carjacker" dumped it in the lake. More time would pass and the crime would just go unsolved. In the meantime she'd marry rich guy and live it up. The worst part of that scenario is if someone had been arrested and tried for the non-existent crime. Given Smith's sociopathy, I could see her playing along and having an innocent man convicted figuring it would get her off the hook. I could see her doing that. What a terrifying thought.

David Smith, the boys' father, showed up to argue against her release. His wife and daughter also spoke, as did the prosecutor at the time of the crime and the current prosecutor. One of the hardest things about listening to them was when David pointed out that thirty years only amounted to fifteen years per child. 

 

Unless she does a complete 180 at some point, I don't think she's ever getting paroled. I think she was delusional to think she'd be released the first time she was eligible, given the heinousness and notoriety of her crimes. Smith will now be able to apply for parole every two years, but hopefully she'll continue to rot in prison for the rest of her life.

Little angels.