Susan Smith Denied Parole Nearly 30 Years After Drowning Her Children

The South Carolina parole board denied Susan Smith’s request for release on Wednesday, nearly three decades after her conviction for the murders of her two young sons in a case that drew national outrage. Smith, now 53, attended the hearing virtually and expressed remorse for her actions, though her contrition failed to sway board members or the victims’ grieving family.

Smith’s 1995 conviction shocked the nation, not only for the horrific nature of her crime but also for her attempt to frame a fictional Black man as the perpetrator. Her accusations sparked a massive police manhunt and served as a grim reminder of the racial biases embedded in American law enforcement. Days later, Smith admitted that she had strapped 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex into their car seats and let her vehicle roll into a South Carolina lake. Prosecutors argued that her motive stemmed from a romantic affair in which her partner saw her children as an obstacle.

At the hearing, David Smith, the boys’ father, joined 15 others, including family members and law enforcement officials, to oppose Susan Smith’s parole. Struggling to hold back tears, David pinned photos of Michael and Alex to his suit as he described the devastation caused by her actions. “Their deaths weren’t a tragic mistake,” he said, rejecting any notion of mitigating circumstances for his ex-wife’s crime.

Smith’s parole denial underscores a justice system still reckoning with the racial overtones of the case. Her fabricated story of a carjacking Black man played into longstanding stereotypes, wasting police resources and further damaging racial equity in criminal investigations. Critics point to her false claims as emblematic of a pattern in which Black individuals are disproportionately targeted and profiled.

Eligible for another parole hearing in two years, Smith remains a polarizing figure. While some view her continued imprisonment as justice for her children, others highlight the broader implications of her lies and their consequences on racial narratives in the United States. The tragic case remains a haunting example of how prejudice can intersect with personal tragedy in deeply harmful ways.