Alfred Rowe Jr. was a captain at South Carolina’s Women’s Correctional Institute in Columbia who pleaded guilty in 2001 to having sexual intercourse with inmate Susan Smith, the woman serving life for drowning her two young sons in 1994. Rowe was fired after roughly thirteen years with the South Carolina Department of Corrections, arrested under the state’s law against staff-inmate sex, and sentenced to five years of probation. More than two decades later, he spoke publicly against Smith’s release ahead of her first parole hearing in November 2024.
Who Alfred Rowe Jr. Is
At the time of the misconduct, Rowe was 40 years old and worked as a captain and night shift supervisor at the women’s prison where Smith was housed. Smith had been convicted in July 1995 of two counts of first-degree murder for rolling her car into John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina, with her three-year-old and fourteen-month-old sons strapped inside. A jury sentenced her to life in prison rather than death.1Fox News. Susan Smith Eligible for Parole, Denied Release After Drowning Two Sons in 1994
Rowe was one of at least two corrections employees who became sexually involved with Smith at the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution. The other was Lt. Houston Cagle, 50, a supervisor at the same facility.
How the Relationship Came to Light
The misconduct surfaced through an unusual chain of events. A tabloid published a report claiming Smith had been beaten in prison. The claim turned out to be false, but during the internal investigation that followed, Smith told investigators she had been having sex with staff members.2Prison Legal News. South Carolina Guards Plead Guilty in Sex Cases
Cagle was implicated first. He admitted to at least four sexual encounters with Smith during 2000 and to a sexual relationship with another female prisoner. He was fired on August 31, 2000. Allegations against Rowe surfaced after investigators interviewed another inmate who knew about his encounters with Smith.3Goupstate.com. Smith Moved to Another Facility, No Visitors for Year According to reporting at the time, Rowe’s sexual relationship with Smith took place during the summer of 2000.4The Daily Record. Guard Pleads Guilty to Prison Sex Rowe was fired on September 25, 2000, arrested under the state’s staff-inmate sex law, and released on $10,000 bail.
The Criminal Case Against Rowe
On September 5, 2001, Rowe pleaded guilty to having sexual intercourse with an inmate. Circuit Judge Casey Manning sentenced him to five years of probation. In imposing that sentence, Manning said he considered the sexual activity to have been “consensual.” Rowe faced up to ten years in prison if he violated his probation.4The Daily Record. Guard Pleads Guilty to Prison Sex
Cagle pleaded guilty a few weeks earlier, on August 13, 2001, to two counts of intercourse with an inmate. He received three months in jail, five years of probation, and 250 hours of community service.2Prison Legal News. South Carolina Guards Plead Guilty in Sex Cases
Why the Judge’s “Consensual” Remark Drew Criticism
South Carolina statute 44-23-1150 classifies sexual contact between corrections employees and inmates as criminal sexual misconduct. First-degree sexual misconduct, which includes sexual intercourse, carries a penalty of up to ten years in prison. Second-degree sexual misconduct, covering other forms of sexual contact, carries up to five years. The statute states that an inmate “is not capable of providing consent” to sexual intercourse or contact with a corrections employee.5Women’s Law. Sexual Misconduct With an Inmate, Patient, or Offender
That provision made Judge Manning’s characterization legally beside the point, and it drew criticism at the time. Under the statute, the guard’s authority over the inmate rules out consent as a matter of law, regardless of how a given encounter appeared to participants.2Prison Legal News. South Carolina Guards Plead Guilty in Sex Cases
Part of a Wider Corrections Scandal
Rowe and Cagle were not isolated cases. By September 2000, the South Carolina Department of Corrections had fired 51 guards and other staff over the preceding twenty months for “improper treatment” of inmates, a category covering sexual misconduct, contraband smuggling, gifts to prisoners, and verbal or physical abuse.6CBS News. Guard Admits Encounter With Smith
State Senator David Thomas, who chaired the Senate Corrections and Penology Committee, said publicly that the known cases were likely “the tip of the iceberg” and scheduled a hearing for September 12, 2000. The department itself requested a review by the U.S. Justice Department. On September 11, 2000, Governor Jim Hodges ordered the State Law Enforcement Division to take over all future investigations of sexual misconduct and contraband smuggling in state prisons. Within weeks, investigators had confirmed eleven cases of sex between staff and prisoners, with seven more under review.7Prison Legal News. South Carolina Rapes Exposed
After the misconduct, Smith was transferred on September 25, 2000, to the Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood, where she remains. The prison put special protocols in place: she is never to be left alone with a single guard, and she must be accompanied by two officers, ideally one male and one female, whenever she is transported.8People. Susan Smith Now: What to Know
Rowe Speaks Out Against Smith’s Parole
Ahead of Smith’s first parole hearing, Rowe gave interviews arguing that she should not be released. Speaking to NewsNation’s Banfield program, he said Smith’s “prison record shows that she’s not really learned anything” other than “how to do illegal drugs,” and predicted that if released, she would violate parole conditions prohibiting drugs and alcohol and “be right back behind bars” within a year.9New York Post. Ex-Prison Guard Who Had Affair With Susan Smith
Reflecting on how the relationship began, Rowe said: “I guess being young, never being around that many women before, and then basically being locked up, just like they were, for 12 hours a day. I just fell into her sweet talk and manipulation.”10NewsNation. Susan Smith Isn’t Ready for Parole, Ex-Lover Prison Guard In a separate interview with a Charleston station, he said other inmates had looked up to Smith as a leader at the facility, describing her as “well-liked,” with prisoners from different units bringing her concerns in hopes she might “bend the guard’s ear” on their behalf. He alleged that Smith pursued a romantic relationship with him after the death of another corrections supervisor.11ABC News 4. Former SC Corrections Captain Speaks Out Against Susan Smith’s Parole
Where Smith’s Case Stands Now
Under the law in effect when Smith was sentenced in 1995, inmates serving life sentences in South Carolina became eligible for parole after 30 years. The legislature eliminated parole for life sentences a year later, but Smith was grandfathered in under the earlier provision.12SC Daily Gazette. Parole Denied for SC Mother Susan Smith
Smith appeared before the South Carolina parole board by video link on November 20, 2024. The board voted unanimously to deny parole, citing the seriousness of the crime and her disciplinary record, which includes drug-possession infractions in 2010 and 2015 and a 2024 charge for communicating with a documentary filmmaker who had also deposited money into her inmate account.13South Carolina Department of Corrections. Inmate Details: Susan Smith14ABC News. Susan Smith in Front of Parole Board 30 Years After Her ex-husband, David Smith, attended and formally opposed her release, along with prosecutors and law enforcement representatives. He has said he intends to return for every future hearing.15PBS NewsHour. Susan Smith, Who Drowned Her Two Children 30 Years Ago, Is Asking Parole Board for Her Freedom
Smith is eligible for a parole hearing every two years. Her next one is scheduled for November 2026.1Fox News. Susan Smith Eligible for Parole, Denied Release After Drowning Two Sons in 1994