Susan Smith, the South Carolina woman serving life for drowning her two young sons in 1994, was denied parole unanimously at her first hearing in November 2024 and is scheduled to appear before the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons again on November 19, 2026.1WYFF4. Susan Smith Parole Hearing November 2026 She remains at the Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood County, where she has been held since September 2020.2WBTV. A Timeline Look at Susan Smith’s Case
Why She Was Eligible After 30 Years
Smith was sentenced to life in prison in July 1995 after a jury convicted her of two counts of murder and rejected the death penalty.2WBTV. A Timeline Look at Susan Smith’s Case Under the sentencing law in effect at the time of her conviction, a life sentence carried parole eligibility after 30 years. South Carolina eliminated parole for such sentences in 1996, but the earlier statute governs her case.3SC Daily Gazette. Parole Denied for SC Mother Susan Smith That is why she reached her first hearing in November 2024, thirty years after the killings.
The November 2024 Hearing and Denial
Smith appeared by video before the parole board on November 20, 2024. She told the board, “I know that what I did was horrible. And I would give anything if I could go back and change it,” and described herself as a Christian who believes God has forgiven her.4ABC News. Susan Smith in Front of Parole Board 30 Years After Her attorney, Tommy Thomas, told the board the case was fundamentally about “the dangers of untreated mental health,” said she posed a low risk to the public, and described a plan for her to live with her brother if released.5PBS NewsHour. Susan Smith, Who Drowned Her Two Children 30 Years Ago, Is Asking Parole Board for Her Freedom
Fifteen witnesses testified in opposition. David Smith, the boys’ father and Susan’s ex-husband, appeared with his wife Tiffany, prosecutors, family members, and law enforcement officials, all wearing photographs of Michael and Alex pinned to their clothing.3SC Daily Gazette. Parole Denied for SC Mother Susan Smith David Smith told the board, “This wasn’t a tragic mistake. She purposely meant to end their life,” said 30 years was “just not enough,” and pledged to return every two years to oppose her release.4ABC News. Susan Smith in Front of Parole Board 30 Years After
Tommy Pope, the original lead prosecutor and now a state representative, also testified against parole. He argued Smith remained focused only on herself and that “the punishment has not been achieved yet.”4ABC News. Susan Smith in Front of Parole Board 30 Years After The board received more than 470 written communications about the hearing; all but six opposed release.6WIS-TV. Convicted Murderer Susan Smith Denied Parole
The board voted unanimously to deny parole, citing the violent nature of the crime and Smith’s “unfortunate institutional record,” including a recent disciplinary action for unauthorized communication with a documentary filmmaker.3SC Daily Gazette. Parole Denied for SC Mother Susan Smith
The Prison Record the Board Weighed
Smith’s three decades in custody include a series of disciplinary incidents. In 2000, a state investigation revealed she had sexual encounters with two correctional employees at the Women’s Correctional Institution in Columbia. Lt. Houston Cagle admitted to having sex with her four times, pleaded guilty to two counts of intercourse with an inmate, and was sentenced to three months in jail, five years of probation, and 250 hours of community service. Former captain Alfred Rowe Jr. also pleaded guilty and received five years of probation. Both were fired.7Prison Legal News. South Carolina Guards Plead Guilty in Sex Cases
Other sanctions included being caught with a razor in 1997, multiple sanctions for drug use in 2010 and 2015, and unauthorized use of another inmate’s PIN in 2012.2WBTV. A Timeline Look at Susan Smith’s Case
The most recent incident before her hearing occurred in August 2024, when Smith was disciplined for conducting phone interviews with a documentary filmmaker who had deposited money into her prison account. She had agreed to provide the filmmaker with contact information for victims, friends, and family. She lost telephone, tablet, and canteen privileges for 90 days.8Fox Carolina. Susan Smith Caught Talking to and Receiving Money From Documentary Filmmaker Pope pointed to that episode and the sexual encounters with guards as evidence her conduct in prison was contrary to what the jury expected when it spared her life. He told reporters separately that Smith “wants to live in notoriety” and predicted that desire “will be her ultimate downfall when it comes to getting parole.”9ABC News 4. Former Prosecutor Argues Against Parole for Susan Smith
What the 2026 Hearing Looks Like
Because Smith’s offense is classified as violent under South Carolina law, she is eligible for a parole hearing every two years following a denial.10South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. Criteria for Parole Consideration That puts her next appearance on November 19, 2026.1WYFF4. Susan Smith Parole Hearing November 2026
The odds are long. Parole in South Carolina is granted roughly 8% of the time overall, with lower rates for first-time applicants and for high-profile cases where prosecutors and victims’ families are opposed.5PBS NewsHour. Susan Smith, Who Drowned Her Two Children 30 Years Ago, Is Asking Parole Board for Her Freedom David Smith has vowed to attend every future hearing to oppose his ex-wife’s release, and in a March 2026 episode of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered said the coming hearing would give him “another chance to stand up for Michael and Alex.”11Oxygen. Susan Smith Parole Update, 3 Decades After Sons’ Murders
According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Smith has had no further disciplinary actions since the November 2024 hearing and has been working as a wardkeeper assistant, earning work credits.12WLOS. 31 Years Later, Susan Smith Still Behind Bars
The Crime Behind the Case
On the evening of October 25, 1994, Smith, then 22, drove her 1990 Mazda to a boat ramp at John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina, with three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander strapped into their car seats. She let the car roll into the water, where it sank with both boys inside.5PBS NewsHour. Susan Smith, Who Drowned Her Two Children 30 Years Ago, Is Asking Parole Board for Her Freedom Fox News reported that Smith watched for approximately six minutes as the vehicle filled with water and sank.13Fox News. Susan Smith Eligible for Parole, Denied Release After Drowning 2 Sons in 1994
Smith then told police she had been carjacked by a Black man who drove off with her children. She held to the story for nine days, appearing on television in tearful pleas for the boys’ return, as searches spread nationally and Black men in the area came under wrongful suspicion.5PBS NewsHour. Susan Smith, Who Drowned Her Two Children 30 Years Ago, Is Asking Parole Board for Her Freedom She confessed on November 3, 1994, and the boys’ bodies were recovered from the submerged vehicle.
At trial, prosecutors argued the killings were motivated by a romantic relationship: Tom Findlay, a man Smith had been seeing, had recently ended things in part because he did not want children.14The Spokesman-Review. Ex-Boyfriend Says Smith Was Suicidal, Unstable The defense argued Smith was severely depressed and had intended a murder-suicide, pointing to her father’s suicide when she was six.15Fox Carolina. Susan Smith Parole Hearing Live Blog The jury convicted on both counts and returned life rather than death.2WBTV. A Timeline Look at Susan Smith’s Case
The false accusation drew its own scrutiny. Civil rights attorney and professor Gloria Browne-Marshall called the story part of a “150-year history of White women making false accusations about Black men.” Pope, the prosecutor, later said Smith’s description was so generic that if she had named a specific individual, “it’s terrifying to think” what might have happened.16CNN. Susan Smith South Carolina Case Parole