A prosecutor representing Susan Smith claims that she was intended to spend the rest of her life in prison as a killer mom's parole hearing is held.

On Wednesday morning, Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother who was convicted of drowning her two toddler sons 30 years ago, will have her first parole hearing.

A prosecutor representing Susan Smith claims that she was intended to spend the rest of her life in prison as a killer mom's parole hearing is held.
A prosecutor representing Susan Smith claims that she was intended to spend the rest of her life in prison as a killer mom's parole hearing is held.

On Wednesday morning, Susan Smith, the South Carolina killer mom who was imprisoned for drowning her two toddler sons 30 years ago, will have her first parole hearing on a jailhouse court feed, as she prepares for her release.

"According to Tommy Pope, the prosecutor who helped convict Smith, the jury intended for her to serve a full life sentence as they wanted her to spend her life in remorse for her actions towards Michael and Alex. However, instead of focusing on her remorse, Smith has been spending her time having sex with guards."

In the latest special on Susan Smith's case and time in prison, "Susan Smith, The Killer Mom: 30 Years Later," Pope, a former director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, and one of Smith's former lovers spoke out, along with Smith herself.

Susan Smith mugshot photos
Legal identity photograph of Susan Smith. She was convicted on July 22, 1995 of murdering her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith, born October 10, 1991, and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith, born August 5, 1993. Susan Smith when she was first arrested in 1994.  (Photo by Brooks Kraft LLC/Sygma via Getty Images)
Susan Smith's kids
Susan Smith strapped her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander Smith, into the back seat of her car and let it roll down a ramp into John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina. (Tommy Pope)

Her ex-husband and the father of her slain sons stated to Fox Carolina that he sincerely hopes she does not get released from prison.

"David Smith stated that his ex-wife always sought attention and tried to manipulate people, and he believes she will continue to do so. Despite this, he still misses his two boys."

David Smith and Tommy Pope will both be attending Wednesday's parole hearing.

On Tuesday, Attorney Eric Bland stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the South Carolina State House has a higher chance of being hit by a meteor tonight than Susan Smith does of receiving parole tomorrow.

"She never showed real contrition for murdering her children."

Susan Smith reached out to her ex-husband and requested that he refrain from opposing her parole and to discuss the matter with other family members.

"He was furious, exclaiming, 'Are you insane?' Bland pointed out that she may have had a chance of parole until she contacted her ex-husband. "She's delusional... It's his children, you see, and he lost them. The wound is still as fresh as it was on the day they were killed."

David Smith's ex-wife's parole hearing on Wednesday will be opposed by Bland, who believes Smith will object to it.

"He's never healed... It's on his mind every single minute of every single day," Bland said. "He's going to testify as to how his life was altered because of this."

Tommy Pope, Susan Smith prosecutor during the trial
Susan Smith prosecutor Tommy Pope during the 1995 trial (Tommy Pope)

The NY Post reported that Smith lacks a single character witness to testify on her behalf.

"In typical situations, after 30 years have passed, victims' families often question if the offender has served enough time. As a Christian state, many people believe in forgiveness. However, based on my conversations, no one has shown any sympathy towards the offender whatsoever."

Smith's horrific crime was followed by a detailed timeline of events, from the lead-up to the crime itself, through her trial and conviction, and finally her decades in prison.

Oct. 25, 1994

Susan Smith secured her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander Smith, in the back seat of her car and drove it down a ramp into John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina.

At 22 years old, Smith witnessed the car filling with water in six minutes, which drowned her boys and sank the car to the bottom of the lake.

The woman sprinted to a nearby house on John D. Long Lake and fabricated a story about a "Black man" stealing her car with her two sons inside. The homeowners phoned 911.

Susan Smith's submerged car in the lake
Susan Smith's submerged car in John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina, where her 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander Smith drowned.  (Tommy Pope)
Susan Smith's sons
Susan Smith is sentenced to life in prison for murdering her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith, born October 10, 1991, and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith, born August 5, 1993.  (William Campbell/Sygma)
picture of murdered sons near where they were found
Toys and pics of Michael & Alex Smith at John D. Long Lake shore shrine, site of drowning murder of 2 boys by their mom Susan Smith (she said they were abducted).     (Photo by William F. Campbell/Getty Images)

Oct. 26-Nov. 2, 1994

For nine days, the faces of Michael and Alexander Smith were featured in national headlines as authorities searched for the man Susan claimed kidnapped the boys. Susan and David Smith made a televised plea for the safe return of their children.

At the time, Pope received updates from SLED on the case while watching the news unfold.

""Pope stated in the Fox Nation special that the entire story sounded highly unlikely, and it is extremely rare to hear of a carjacker taking children," said Pope."

Nov. 3, 1994

Susan Smith confessed to killing her two sons after failing a polygraph test. She was charged with two counts of murder.

Police investigating Susan Smith murders
3 unident. law enforcement officials, 1 clad in scuba gear, talking lakeside as they comb the water's bottom for the car of Susan Smith, who admitted to drowning her sons Michael & Alex in her car in John D. Long Lake.     (Photo by Thomas S. England/Getty Images)

Nov. 6, 1994

Hundreds attended the funeral of Michael and Alexander Smith.

July 17, 1995

Susan Smith's trial commenced shortly after she drowned her sons. Prosecutors contended that her motivation for murdering the boys was due to a man she was dating at the time who didn't want children. However, her defense asserted that she was suicidal and initially intended to drown with her sons before managing to save herself.

"In her confession letter, Smith expressed her emotional turmoil, stating that she didn't want to live anymore and felt like things could only get worse. Despite feeling unable to be a good mom, she didn't want her children to grow up without a mother. Smith believed that ending their lives was the only way to protect them from any grief or harm."

"I was so desperate to end my life that I was about to drive off a ramp into the water, but I stopped. I tried again and stopped again. I hit rock bottom when I let my children go down that ramp without me. I ran and screamed, "Oh God, oh God, no!" What have I done?"

July 22, 1995

Susan Smith was found guilty of murdering her two sons, Michael and Alexander.

Susan Smith was convicted on July 22, 1995 of murdering her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith. Initially, Smith claimed that a Black man carjacked her with the two boys still inside her vehicle. But her story unraveled, and the woman admitted that she let her vehicle roll into a lake with the boys strapped inside.
Susan Smith was convicted on July 22, 1995 of murdering her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith. Initially, Smith claimed that a Black man carjacked her with the two boys still inside her vehicle. But her story unraveled, and the woman admitted that she let her vehicle roll into a lake with the boys strapped inside.  (Getty Images)

July 28, 1995

Despite the prosecutors' call for the death penalty, Susan Smith was given a life sentence.

David Smith weeping
Susan Smith told a suitor over the phone that she would be a "good stepmom" and could "see [herself] around kids" in a recorded phone call. Grief-stricken David Smith, the inmate's former husband, is pictured weeping amidst a crowd of mourners as he leaves funeral for his kids Michael and Alex. (Thomas S. England/Getty Images)

July, 1995-March, 2015

Smith was given 10 disciplinary penalties, including one for having sex with a prison guard and multiple instances of drug abuse.

Aug. 26, 2024 and Oct. 3, 2024

Smith was charged on Aug. 26 and subsequently convicted on Oct. 3 for violating the SCDC policy by communicating with a victim/and or witness after speaking to a documentary filmmaker. As a result, she lost her telephone, tablet, and canteen privileges for 90 days.

Susan Smith
Susan Smith, pictured in a recent mugshot at left and at 22-year-old in 1994 at right, has been incarcerated in South Carolina for nearly 30 years for the murder of her two sons. (South Carolina Department of Corrections)

Smith disclosed her crime and the events leading up to and after it in detail during her talks with the filmmaker, including specifics such as the contents of the car trunk when it went into the water and her plans to jump from a bridge with the boys, but one woke up, according to the incident report.

Nov. 4, 2024

Susan Smith was eligible for parole on Nov. 4 after spending 30 years in prison.

Nov. 20, 2024

Smith will be seen on a jailhouse court feed for her initial parole hearing on November 20th.

The parole board will not reveal its decision during Wednesday's hearing; instead, it will post the decision on its website at a later time.

Planet Chronicle' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.

by Mollie Markowitz

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