It’s been nearly 30 years since Susan Smith, a young mother from South Carolina, sparked a nationwide frenzy with a chilling and ultimately false claim.
Smith, who was 23 years old in 1994, told authorities that a Black man had carjacked her and driven off with her two young sons.
Her emotional plea for their safe return captivated the country. But this story was soon exposed as a lie, and Smith's actions would lead to one of the most infamous criminal cases in modern American history.
As Smith now faces her first parole hearing after serving 30 years for the murders of her children, it's worth revisiting the case.
The tragedy and the complex details surrounding her crime, subsequent trial, and behavior in prison raise many questions about justice, remorse, and whether she deserves a second chance at freedom.
On the evening of October 25, 1994, Susan Smith called 911 with a harrowing story. She claimed that a Black man had carjacked her at a local intersection in Union, South Carolina, and driven away with her two young sons, Michael (3) and Alexander (14 months). Her public pleas for their safe return captivated the nation.
Smith murdered her two sons, Michael and Alex, by drowning them in John D. Long Lake in Union County, South Carolina.
"I just feel in my heart that you're OK, but you gotta take care of each other," Smith tearfully told reporters during one of many TV appearances.
As the days passed, the story gained national attention. The town of Union, along with volunteers from across the country, came together to search for the missing children. It was a heart-wrenching time, and the country rallied around the distraught mother.
Smith's husband, David Smith, appeared alongside his wife in interviews, pleading with the public to help find their children. “If the person who has mine and my wife's children see this, we come to you and we beg that you please do not hurt our children,” he said, asking for compassion.
For nine days, the entire community, as well as law enforcement, mounted an intensive search. The public, gripped by the emotional story, held onto the hope that Michael and Alexander would be safely returned. But behind the scenes, investigators were beginning to uncover inconsistencies in Susan's version of events.
As investigators delved deeper, they discovered a disturbing truth: Susan’s story didn’t add up.
The carjacking could not have occurred where she said it did. Her supposed destination—a friend’s house—turned out to be empty that night. During a lie detector test, Susan struggled to answer a key question: "Do you know where your boys are?"
Finally, on November 3, 1994, Susan Smith confessed. She admitted that she had drowned her two sons by strapping them into their car seats and letting her car roll into John D. Long Lake, just over five miles from her home.
In a handwritten confession, Smith stated that she had been in love with a man who didn’t feel the same way. She wrote that she didn’t want her children to grow up without a mother and had decided to end her life along with theirs.
The shock was immense. David Smith, devastated by the revelation, buried his sons three days later.
John D. Long Lake in Union County.
Susan Smith was charged with two counts of murder. Her parents, desperate to defend her, hired a high-profile legal team, including Judy Clarke, an attorney who would later represent notorious figures such as the Unabomber and the Boston Marathon bomber.
The prosecution, led by Tommy Pope, framed the case as a tragedy fueled by selfishness. “Susan made a horrible, horrible choice to choose a man over her family,” Pope said, emphasizing that her affair and her decision to kill her children were directly connected. Smith’s affair with Tom Findlay, a man who testified about their relationship, painted a damning picture of her motivations.
The trial was a spectacle. Unlike the O.J. Simpson trial, which was unfolding simultaneously, cameras were not allowed in the courtroom.
But the prosecution still managed to make a compelling case, including reenacting the crime and showing a video of Smith’s car slowly sinking in the lake. One of the divers who recovered the vehicle testified about the heart-wrenching scene of seeing a small hand pressed against the car's window.
The defense, however, pointed to Smith's history of abuse, including the disturbing revelation that her stepfather had sexually abused her for years.
Her stepfather admitted to the grooming and abuse, which some felt might have contributed to Smith's mental breakdown. While this evidence was emotionally charged, it did little to absolve her of the enormity of her crime.
In the end, the jury found Susan Smith guilty of two counts of murder after only two hours of deliberation. The prosecution sought the death penalty, and in an emotional statement, David Smith told Barbara Walters that he felt the death penalty was the only just punishment.
However, the jury ultimately decided on a life sentence.
Susan Smith, who murdered her two children in 1994. doc.state.sc
Susan Smith’s time in prison has been marked by ongoing controversy. Despite the severity of her crime, she did not appear to have changed her ways.
In 2000, Smith was involved in a sexual encounter with a prison guard, Alfred Rowe. He later expressed regret for his actions but believed Smith was not ready for release. Rowe told Impact x Nightline, “She’s not ready to join society and be a law-abiding citizen again.”
Smith’s prison record also shows additional misconduct, including another sexual encounter with a different guard, as well as sanctions for drug-related issues and mutilation.
These incidents highlight the troubling nature of her behavior behind bars, which has raised serious questions about her ability to rehabilitate.
In 2015, Smith wrote a letter to The State, a South Carolina newspaper, claiming that she wasn’t in her "right mind" the night she killed her children.
She suggested that she was overwhelmed by mental health issues and that her actions were the result of a breakdown. This claim of mental instability could play a significant role in her upcoming parole hearing.
Susan Smith’s recent behavior in prison has raised serious concerns about her eligibility for parole, with numerous violations over the years contributing to her increasingly negative reputation.
In August 2024, just weeks before her scheduled parole hearing, Smith was found guilty of a prison disciplinary charge for communicating with a filmmaker.
This violation, which included discussing her infamous crimes and sharing personal contact information for her family, friends, and even her former husband, David Smith, was a clear breach of South Carolina Department of Corrections policy.
Such behavior, particularly at this critical moment in her parole process, has led many to question whether Smith has truly rehabilitated or whether she remains as dangerous and unrepentant as she was when she was convicted in 1995.
This latest incident follows a troubling pattern of Smith’s actions behind bars. Her previous infractions include drug use, self-mutilation, and even sexual incidents with guards, all of which paint a portrait of someone who has not shown any meaningful remorse or growth.
In 2024 the New York Post reported that Smith Smith was conducting raunchy phone sex calls with men, including one who promised her a $40,000 a year allowance. She has reportedly become convinced she will be released, telling one suitor, 'It's time for me to get out. I've done my time. I'm ready to go.'
One male caller told her he has a large sum waiting for her comprised of the sale of family property, money he saved and gifts from admirers.
'I'll tell you what I did last night, thinking of you,' he told Smith. 'I made a spreadsheet that starts out with $213,000. You're gonna have more than that. I think you'll be in the $220,000 range, all put together.
'You can [spend] $40,000 a year. While you're withdrawing from that balance, it's still earning interest on the undrawn amount.
'In 20 years' time, you will have spent most of that, but you will still have some of it left over.'
Rather than using her time in prison to reflect on her actions and show signs of personal transformation, Smith has repeatedly violated prison rules, showing little regard for authority and the rehabilitative process.
These actions, along with her recent communication with a filmmaker, have raised the question of whether she is truly ready to re-enter society or if she continues to be a threat to those around her. For many, these violations underscore the idea that Smith has not changed and is still the same person who committed one of the most horrific crimes in South Carolina’s history.
Her actions in prison are not just a matter of institutional misconduct—they also highlight a deeper, more unsettling issue: the lack of genuine repentance.
Smith has had ample opportunity to demonstrate her remorse and prove that she has transformed into someone capable of reintegrating into society.
However, the continuous infractions suggest that she may be more interested in seeking personal gain and attention rather than grappling with the emotional and moral weight of her actions.
These behaviors paint a bleak picture of Smith’s potential for rehabilitation, making her parole hearing a highly contentious issue.
As the parole board weighs whether to grant her release, it will need to carefully consider not just her statements of remorse, but also her repeated violations of prison rules and the negative consequences these infractions have for the safety and well-being of others.
Smith was found guilty of violating South Carolina Department of Corrections policy by communicating with a filmmaker and discussing her crimes.
To fully understand Susan Smith’s actions, it is important to consider her personal history and the complex factors that may have contributed to her crime.
Smith’s notorious decision to drown her two sons, Michael and Alexander, in a South Carolina lake in 1994 was not an isolated, random act of violence but one that was shaped by her emotional turmoil and the circumstances surrounding her life at the time.
One of the key factors that has been cited as influencing her actions was her affair with a man named Thoman Findley, who allegedly broke up with Smith because he did not want children.
It is suggested that Smith’s desperation to hold onto a relationship she valued, combined with her sense of abandonment and rejection, may have played a significant role in her decision to kill her sons.
This idea adds complexity to her character, as it paints a picture of a woman in extreme emotional distress, struggling with feelings of worthlessness and loss.
In addition to the emotional turmoil caused by her personal life, Smith’s own statements from 2015 provide further insight into her mindset at the time of the crime.
She claimed that her initial plan was to take her own life, not her children’s, and that the decision to murder her sons was one made in a moment of overwhelming despair.
According to Smith, she did not believe she could face her family once the truth about her actions was revealed. These revelations complicate the narrative around Smith’s crime, as they show a woman caught in the grips of deep depression and suicidal ideation.
While this may evoke some degree of sympathy, it also raises unsettling questions about Smith’s mental state at the time of the murders and whether her actions were a product of emotional instability or calculated malice.
The complexity of Smith’s personal history, combined with her apparent struggles with mental health, makes it difficult to fully grasp the motivations behind her crime.
On the one hand, her explanation suggests a woman who was overwhelmed by her own emotional turmoil, struggling with rejection, depression, and a sense of powerlessness.
On the other hand, her decision to drown her children in cold blood paints a picture of someone who, in her mind, saw no other way out of her problems.
These conflicting elements make it hard to reconcile Smith’s actions with the person she claims to have become in prison.
Her attempt to justify her crime by focusing on her mental health issues raises the question of whether she is truly capable of taking full responsibility for her actions or if she continues to deflect blame.
Ultimately, her personal history provides important context for understanding her crime, but it does not absolve her of the monstrous act she committed.
Nearly 30 years have passed since Susan Smith was sentenced to life in prison. Now, in 2025, she has the opportunity for parole.
In her application, Smith expressed remorse for her actions, stating, “I know what I did was horrible, and I would give anything so I could change it.” However, her ex-husband David Smith, who has since remarried and started a family of his own, remains firm in his opposition to her release.
“I would just tell her—you have no idea of how much damage you have done to so many people,” David Smith said in an interview with Court TV.
He plans to attend Smith's parole hearing and stated that he will do everything in his power to ensure she remains behind bars. “I feel she doesn’t deserve another chance in society. She gave up that right,” he added.
Prosecutors who worked on the case also oppose her release, including Tommy Pope, who argued that Susan Smith had made a "horrible, horrible choice" and had always "focused on herself."
The evidence that she killed her children to pursue a future with her lover is a key part of the case against her, and both the prosecution and David Smith’s statements suggest that Smith has not demonstrated enough remorse or rehabilitation to warrant release.
Under South Carolina law, Smith became eligible for parole after serving 30 years in prison. To be granted parole, she needs a majority vote from the parole board members.
At least two-thirds of those present would need to vote in her favor for her to be released. However, considering her problematic behavior in prison and the ongoing trauma felt by her family, it’s unclear whether the parole board will view her as fit for reentry into society.
The Susan Smith case remains one of the most disturbing and widely discussed criminal cases in American history. The emotional manipulation, the false accusations, and the shocking murders of her two children left lasting scars on her family and the broader community.
As Smith approaches her parole hearing, the question remains: Can she ever truly make amends for what she did? Is there hope for rehabilitation, or will the damage she caused be irreparable? The case continues to raise difficult questions about justice, accountability, and the possibility of redemption.
Susan Smith let her children drown 25 years ago
After spending 30 years behind bars, Susan Smith sought parole, but her past actions and behavior in prison suggested that she may not yet be ready for reintegration into society.
The sheer horror of her crime, her lack of meaningful rehabilitation, and the unrelenting grief experienced by her ex-husband and the public made her parole hearing an emotionally charged and contentious matter.
As the parole board weighed her case, it carefully considered her expressed remorse against the severity of her actions and the lasting damage they inflicted on her family and the broader community. On November 2024, Susan Smith was officially denied parole.
While the decision to grant or deny parole was theirs, the legacy of Susan Smith's crime continues to cast a dark shadow over the nation, leaving an indelible mark on the public consciousness for years to come.
