Susan Smith, who has spent the past 30 years in prison for the drowning of her two sons, reportedly plans to boast about her largely good behavior record at her first parole hearing.
“We believe she will be free within two months,” the relative said. New York Post“she [the hearing] She will go her own way. She has pinned all her hopes on that basket, and it represents freedom.”
Relatives told The Washington Post that Smith plans to argue that he has a “different moral code than other people” because of the trauma he suffered growing up in a sexually abusive household.
“It was a real blow to her,” the relative said.
Murderer's mother Susan Smith tells inmate in prison phone call 'I'm ready to get out' ahead of parole hearing: Report
On the left is a recent arrest photo, and on the right is Susan Smith, who was 22 years old in 1994. She has been incarcerated in South Carolina for nearly 30 years for the murders of her two sons. (South Carolina Department of Corrections)
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Smith also plans to argue that he suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness when he crashed his car into John D. Long Lake in South Carolina in 1994 with his two sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, in car seats.
In a letter to a reporter from The State in 2015, the murderous mother wrote that she was “not the monster society thinks I am.” [she] teeth.”
“Something went terribly wrong that night. I was not myself,” Smith wrote. “I had no plan, no motivation. I was out of my mind.”
During her trial, a defense psychologist diagnosed the then-22-year-old with dependent personality disorder (DPD), a disorder characterized by “a need to hold others responsible for the most important aspects of one's life,” according to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. People with DPD “have difficulty disagreeing with others because they fear losing their support or approval.”
Prosecutors said Smith was inspired to kill her sons a week after her ex-boyfriend and future lover, Tom Findlay, wrote to her saying the boys were getting in her way.
Murderer's mother Susan Smith's love life shows 'people are disposable' for murderers hoping for parole: expert
Susan Smith was convicted of murdering her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith, on July 22, 1995. Initially, Smith claimed that a black man had robbed her car with her two sons inside, but her story fell apart and she admitted to having the car roll into a lake with her sons locked inside. (Getty Images)
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Smith's record in prison is not spotless: In addition to charges of drug possession and self-harm, he was reprimanded in 2000 for having sex with two corrections officers.
Smith claims that these relationships were not consensual due to power differences and that she was the victim. According to the New York Post, she told a friend in 2023 that she had sex with them “because [she] I felt [she] There was no choice.”
WATCH ON FOX NATION: The shocking story of Susan Smith
As one prison guard once said: News Nation Smith should not be released.
“Her prison record really shows that… she hasn't really learned anything while she's been in prison other than how to commit any illegal act other than killing her sons,” Alfred Rowe said.
Family members say Smith will argue she has turned her life around in prison: She hasn't faced disciplinary action since 2015 and has held a stable job while incarcerated, according to prison records obtained by Fox News Digital.
Susan Smith, close to parole after murdering young son, says she'd be a 'good stepmother': reports
The family photo shows 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith and his 14-month-old brother, Alexander Tyler Smith. (Reuters)
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“She has grown into a mature woman,” a relative told The Post, “and believes she can survive outside of prison.”
David Smith, the father of Ms Smith's murdered children, intends to oppose his ex-wife's release at the parole hearing, either in writing or by addressing the parole board.
“I'm going to remind them what they did to her and who the victim is in this case,” he said. Court TV“It's definitely not her.”
Susan Smith and her husband appeared on national television pleading for the return of their children after Smith claimed a black man had taken her car and abducted her sons.
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However, nine days later, Smith confessed to drowning the boys.
She was convicted of murder but avoided the death penalty, instead receiving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
“I think it's about time,” she told one of her jailed suitors earlier this year. “I've paid my debt. I deserve to be released. I'm not going to harm anyone again. Just let me live my life.”
