Susan Smith, who is in prison for the cold-blooded murders of her two young sons in 1994, believes she missed her chance of being released on parole next month after being sentenced for trying to capitalize on her notoriety. .
“She is inconsolable,” a relative told the Post. “She almost escaped, but it seems like she collapsed right in front of her. She derailed it herself. She's not happy at all.”
“She knows that there is a very low chance that she will ever go out again,” a relative said. “This is a new disciplinary action taken a month before her parole hearing. The parole board is paying 100% attention to these things. This is really bad.”
Smith, who is serving a life sentence, was arrested after she agreed to provide contact information for her victims, including friends, family and ex-husband, to a documentary filmmaker, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
In return, the filmmakers deposited money into Smith's commissary account, authorities said.
The 53-year-old was charged on Aug. 26 with communicating with a crime victim and later sentenced earlier this month, a Department of Corrections spokesperson confirmed.
The filmmaker's name has been redacted from the report.
Inmates in the South Carolina Department of Corrections are prohibited from having telephone or in-person interviews. They may only be able to write letters.
Additionally, South Carolina statute prohibits criminals from profiting from their crimes. During their conversation, Smith and the filmmaker discussed how she would get paid for filming documentaries.
Smith was a 22-year-old mother when she shot to fame after killing her sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander. In 1994, she drove her car into John D. Long Lake in Union County, South Carolina, with her sons strapped into child seats.
Smith then falsely told police that a black man had carjacked her and kidnapped her infant, leading authorities to go door-to-door in the predominantly African-American neighborhood.
Smith and her then-husband David appeared on national news daily to plead for the boys' safe return.
But nine days later, Smith finally confessed that the carjacking had never happened and that he had drowned his sons in the lake.
Her motive was that she was in a relationship with a wealthy man who did not want children. The car was pulled from the water with the two boys strapped to their seats.
Although she was found guilty of murder, she was spared the death penalty and instead given a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
But Smith believes her parole hearing, scheduled for Nov. 4, is unlikely to go her way, relatives said.
Smith had a rough road in prison. She was disciplined in 2000 for having sex with two guards inside the prison. She has always maintained that the sex was not consensual due to power differences.
She also has several offenses for possessing drugs and marijuana in prison, including in 2010 and 2015.
But for nine years, Smith has been a model prisoner.
Starting Oct. 4, Smith lost her phone, tablet and dining privileges for 90 days. Days before losing her phone, the killer's mother had told relatives about her plight.
“She was really, really upset,” a relative said. “And the worst part is that she knows she failed. This is on her. How could she be so stupid?”
