Editing Susan Smith

{{Short description|American murderer of her own children (born 1971)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox murderer
| name              = Susan Smith
| image_name        = Susan Smith (SC convict).png
| image_size        = 220
| image_caption     = Smith in 2012
| birth_name        = Susan Leigh Vaughan
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1971|9|26}}
| birth_place       = [[Union, South Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date        = 
| death_place       = 
| cause             = 
| alias             = 
| motive            = 
| charge            = 
| conviction        = [[Murder in United States law|Murder]] (2 counts)
| conviction_penalty = {{bulleted list|[[Life imprisonment]] with possibility of [[parole]] after 30 years| Parole denied (2024)}}
| conviction_status = [[Incarcerated]]
| occupation        = 
| spouse            = {{marriage|David Smith|1991|1995|reason=divorced}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Rekers|first=George|title=Susan Smith: Victim Or Murderer|publisher=Glenbridge Publishing Ltd.|year=1996|pages=[https://archive.org/details/susansmithvictim00reke/page/12 12, 16]|isbn=0-944435-38-6|url=https://archive.org/details/susansmithvictim00reke/page/12}}</ref>
| children          = Michael Daniel (1991–1994)<br>Alexander Tyler (1993–1994)
| imprisoned        = [[Leath Correctional Institution]]
}}

'''Susan Leigh Smith''' (née '''Vaughan'''; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and one-year-old Alexander, in 1994 by strapping her children in their car seats, and rolling her car containing her two children into [[John D. Long Lake]] in South Carolina.<ref name="Spitz 2005 846–881">{{cite book|first=Werner U.|last=Spitz|title=Spitz and Fisher's Medicolegal Investigation of Death. Guideline for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigations|editor-first=Daniel J.|editor-last=Spitz|chapter=Investigation of Bodies in Water|date=2005|edition=4th|publisher=Charles C. Thomas Publishing Ltd.|location=Springfield, Illinois|isbn=978-0398075446|pages=846–881}}</ref>

The case gained international attention because of Smith's false claim that a black man had kidnapped her sons during a [[carjacking]].<ref name="NBC News">{{cite web|title=Susan Smith, Mother Who Killed Kids|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/susan-smith-mother-who-killed-kids-something-went-very-wrong-n397051|website=[[NBC News]]|date=July 23, 2015 |access-date=June 9, 2016}}</ref> Her defense attorneys, [[David Bruck]] and [[Judy Clarke]], called [[expert witness]]es to testify that she had mental health issues that impaired her judgment when she committed the crimes.<ref>{{cite news|first=Lorrie|last=Grant|url=https://buffalonews.com/news/lawyers-to-reveal-defense-for-susan-smith-could-plead-insanity-or-mental-illness-for-mother/article_7822e23f-d0d2-5064-8445-85303b18c556.html|title=Lawyers to Reveal Defense for Susan Smith: Could Pleas Insanity or Mental Illness for Mother of Drowned Boys|newspaper=[[Buffalo News]]|date=February 27, 1995|accessdate=February 19, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|title=Psychiatrist for Susan Smith's Defense Tells of a Woman Desperate to Be Liked|first=Rick|last=Bragg|date=July 22, 1995|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/22/us/psychiatrist-for-susan-smith-s-defense-tells-of-a-woman-desperate-to-be-liked.html}}</ref>

Smith was sentenced to [[Life imprisonment|life in prison]] with the possibility of [[parole]] after 30 years.<ref name="Spitz 2005 846–881"/> Smith was first eligible for parole on November 20, 2024, which was denied.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-20 |title=Susan Smith: South Carolina mother denied parole 30 years after killing her sons |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3npzxd1lwo |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> She is incarcerated at the [[Leath Correctional Institution]] near [[Greenwood, South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Steve|last=Helling|url=https://people.com/crime/susan-smith-life-prison-drowning-kids-25-years-ago/|title=Sex, Drugs and Sickness: Inside Susan Smith's Life in Prison After Drowning Her Sons|website=[[People (magazine)|People]]|date=November 15, 2022|accessdate=November 8, 2023}}</ref>

==Family background==
Smith's father died by suicide when she was six years old, and Smith herself attempted suicide at age 13. Her mother then married Beverly C. Russell Jr. who later was revealed to have [[child sexual abuse|molested]] Smith when she was a teenager. Russell was a local businessman who later gained prominence in South Carolina's Republican Party and the [[Christian Coalition of America|Christian Coalition]]. Both Smith and Russell have stated that sexual relations between them continued until six months before the murders.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Elizabeth|last=Gleick|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,134423,00.html|title=Sex, betrayal, and murder|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=June 24, 2001|access-date=May 12, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Scheer|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-08-01-me-30101-story.html|title=The River of Hypocrisy Runs Wide and Deep : The Smith case is remarkable, too, for its rank immorality|newspaper=[[LA Times]]|date=August 1, 1995|access-date=May 12, 2024}}</ref>

After graduating from [[Secondary school|high school]] in 1989, Smith made a second suicide attempt after a married man she was in a relationship with ended their [[affair]].<ref name="trutv.com">{{cite web|first=Rachel |last=Pergament |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/phase_10.html|title=Susan Smith Child Murderer or Victim? |website=Crime Library |publisher= [[TruTV]] |access-date=February 24, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229153514/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/smith/phase_10.html |archive-date=December 29, 2011 }}</ref> She married David Smith, and they had two sons.

==Crimes==
On October 25, 1994, Smith reported to police that she had been the victim of a carjacking by a black man while driving her 1990 [[Mazda Familia#Sixth generation (BG; 1989–1994)|Mazda Protégé]] sedan with her sons still in the back seat.<ref>{{cite web |last1=CDP |title=Susan Smith |url=https://criminaldiscoursepodcast.com/susan-smith/ |website=Criminal Discourse Podcast |access-date=21 November 2024 |date=23 November 2020}}</ref> For nine days, she made dramatic pleas on national television for their safe return. However, following an intensive investigation and a nationwide search for them, she confessed on November 3, 1994, to letting her car roll into nearby [[John D. Long Lake]],<ref>{{cite web|title=John D. Long Lake|url=http://scgreatoutdoors.com/park-johndlonglake.html|website=scgreatoutdoors.com|access-date=June 18, 2016}}</ref> drowning them inside.<ref>{{cite web|first=Charles|last=Montaldo| website=[[About.com]] |url=http://crime.about.com/od/murder/a/susan_smith.htm|title=Susan Smith — Profile of a Child Killer | date=April 1, 2018|access-date=February 24, 2012}}</ref> Her motivation was reportedly to facilitate a relationship with a local wealthy man named Tom Findlay. Prior to the murders, he sent her a letter ending their relationship and expressing that he did not want children.<ref>{{cite news |first = Kathy | last = Kemp |url = http://www.alabamapress.org/uploads/Cat%2012%20Div%20A_Feature.pdf | title = In The Arms of Angels | newspaper = [[Birmingham News]] |date = April 17, 2005 | access-date = <!-----7 April 2010-----> | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724232211/http://www.alabamapress.org/uploads/Cat%2012%20Div%20A_Feature.pdf | archive-date = July 24, 2011 }}</ref> She said there was no motive nor did she plan the murders, stating that she was not in a right state of mind.<ref name=NBC>{{cite web|first=Elizabeth|last=Chuck|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/susan-smith-mother-who-killed-kids-something-went-very-wrong-n397051|title=Susan Smith, Mother Who Killed Kids: 'Something Went Very Wrong That Night'|website=[[NBC News]]|date=July 23, 2015}}</ref>

Later revelations indicated that detectives doubted Smith's story from the start and believed that she murdered her sons. By the second day of the investigation, the police suspected that she knew their location and hoped that they were still alive. Investigators started to search the nearby lakes and ponds, including John D. Long Lake, where their bodies were eventually found. Initial water searches did not locate the car because the police believed it would be within 30 feet of the shore, and did not search further; it turned out to be 122 feet from the shore. After the boys had been missing for two days, Smith was subjected to a [[polygraph]] test. A significant breakthrough in the case was her description of the carjacking location. She had claimed that a traffic light had turned red, causing her to stop at an otherwise empty intersection. However, it was determined that the light would not have turned red for her unless another vehicle was present on the intersecting road. This conflicted with her statement that she did not see any other cars there when the carjacking took place. 

===Trial===
In 1995, David Bruck and [[Judy Clarke]] served as co-counsel for Smith.<ref name="Smith Trial">{{cite news|last1=Bragg|first1=Rick|title=Arguments Begin in Susan Smith Trial|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/19/us/arguments-begin-in-susan-smith-trial.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 19, 1995 |access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> In their opening statement, Clarke argued Smith was deeply troubled and experienced severe depression.<ref name="Smith Trial" /> Clarke told the jury: "This is not a case about evil. This is a case about despair and sadness."<ref name="CNN" /> The defense's theory of the case was that Smith drove to the edge of the lake to kill herself and her two sons, but her body willed itself out of the car.<ref name="Smith Trial" /> The prosecution, on the other hand, believed she murdered her sons in order to start a new life with a former lover.<ref name="Smith Trial" /> It took the jury only two and a half hours to convict her of murdering them. During the penalty phase, [[Tommy Pope (politician)|Tommy Pope]], the lead prosecutor in the Smith case, argued passionately in favor of sentencing Smith to death. The jury ultimately voted against imposing the [[Capital punishment|death penalty]].<ref name="CNN">{{cite news|last1=O'Neill|first1=Ann|title=Lawyer keeps even the most loathed criminals off death row|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/12/arizona.judy.clarke.profile/|website=[[CNN]]|date=January 12, 2011|access-date=26 December 2014}}</ref> Smith was sentenced to two concurrent life terms in prison in 1995 for the murders of her two sons. Smith's defense [[psychiatrist]] diagnosed her with [[dependent personality disorder]] and [[Major depressive disorder|major depression]].<ref name="trutv.com"/>

==Incarceration==
Smith was originally incarcerated in the [[Solitary confinement in the United States|Administrative Segregation Unit]] in the [[Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution]] in [[Columbia, South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Bill |last=Hewitt
|title=Tears of Hate & Pity |magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] |volume=43 |number=10 |date=March 13, 1995 |url=http://people.com/archive/cover-story-tears-of-hate-pity-vol-43-no-10/ |access-date=2024-08-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126095332/http://people.com/archive/cover-story-tears-of-hate-pity-vol-43-no-10/ |archive-date=2017-11-26 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2000, two correctional officers at the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution were charged after [[Prison_sexuality|having sex with her]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sex with Child Killer Charged Again |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=2000-09-26 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95630&page=1 |access-date=2018-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523185854/https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=95630&page=1 |archive-date=2023-05-23 |url-status=live}}</ref> Consequently, she was moved to the Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former South Carolina prison guard says Susan Smith could kill again if paroled |date=2020-02-04 |work=[[WYFF]] |location=Greenville, South Carolina |url=https://www.wyff4.com/article/former-south-carolina-prison-guard-says-susan-smith-could-kill-again-if-paroled-dr-doctor-oz/30769276 |access-date=2021-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205150001/https://www.wyff4.com/article/former-south-carolina-prison-guard-says-susan-smith-could-kill-again-if-paroled-dr-doctor-oz/30769276 |archive-date=2020-02-05 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 

Smith's first parole eligibility was in November of 2024, at which time she was denied parole.<ref>{{Citation|title=Killer mom Susan Smith denied parole 30 years after drowning sons|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/susan-smith-prosecutor-says-she-meant-serve-life-prison-killer-mom-gets-parole-hearing.amp|access-date=November 20, 2024}}</ref> It was reported that after Smith's chance for parole was denied she threw a tantrum in her cell.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-22 |title=Child murderer Susan Smith throws ‘tantrum’ in cell after board denies parole |url=https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/susan-smith-tantrum-parole-rejected-b2652106.html |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The [[Arrested Development (season 3)|season three]] premiere of ''[[Arrested Development]]'' ("The Cabin Show") features a flashback scene in which Lucille Bluth ([[Jessica Walter]]), having recently gone off her postpartum medication, is watching a news story about Smith, and says, "Good for her!"— much to the concern of her son Buster ([[Tony Hale]]). The end of the episode features Lucille walking away from her car, with Buster asleep in the back seat as it rolls into a nearby body of water.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arrested Development: "The Cabin Show"/"For British Eyes Only" |url=https://www.avclub.com/arrested-development-the-cabin-show-for-british-eye-1798174964 |access-date=2022-05-04 |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=November 13, 2012 |language=en-us}}</ref>

Season 6, Episode 8 ("Angel") of ''[[Law and Order (TV series)|Law and Order]]'' was based on her case.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wyatt |first=Edward |date=January 8, 2005 |title=Even for an Expert, Blurred TV Images Became a False Reality |language=en-US |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/08/arts/television/even-for-an-expert-blurred-tv-images-became-a-false-reality.html |access-date=August 27, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

[[Blind Melon]]'s song "Car Seat (God's Presents)," from their 1995 album ''[[Soup (Blind Melon album)|Soup]]'', was inspired by the Susan Smith murders,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Coupe |first=Stuart |date=September 1995 |title=Just a Drummer |url=http://www.blindmelonarticles.com/credits/00_publications/drummedia/1995/1995-09-00_drummedia_01.pdf |magazine=Drum Media |location=Australia |access-date=May 27, 2022|via=blindmelonarticles.com}}</ref> as was the [[Tom House (musician)|Tom House]] song "I'm in Love with Susan Smith." The song "When This is Over," on [[Hayden (musician)|Hayden]]'s 1995 album ''[[Everything I Long For]]'', is written from the point of view of one of Smith's sons as the car sinks into the lake.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Jenkins |first=Mark |date=July 19, 1996 |title=Hayden's Edge |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/07/19/haydens-edge/75bd607a-5101-4f0e-8f84-807b5994ad98/ |magazine=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=November 1, 2022}}</ref> The first song released by [[Red Star Belgrade (band)|Red Star Belgrade]], "Union, S.C.", is written from Smith's perspective.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Menconi |first=David |date=February 11, 1995 |title=Continental Drift |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yAsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT19 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |language=en |page=18}}</ref> "Paper Gown", a song from folk singer [[Caroline Herring]]'s 2014 album Lantana takes the form of a murder ballad from the point of view of Smith. 

Smith appears briefly in archival footage in the 2002 film ''[[Bowling for Columbine]]'' in a scene about "dangerous black guys".<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q165394|id=tt0310793|title=Bowling for Columbine}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://vimeo.com/39131010 |title='Dangerous black Guys' from Bowling for Columbine |website=[[Vimeo]] |accessdate=10 July 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Racial hoax]]
*[[Filicide]]
{{Portal bar|United States|Biography|Law|1990s}}

==References==
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{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book|last=Eady|first=Cornelius|title=Brutal Imagination|date=2001|publisher=Penguin Putnam|location=New York|isbn=978-0399147203|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780399147180}}
*{{Cite book|last=Eftimiades|first=Maria|title=Sins of the Mother|isbn=978-0-312-95658-5|publisher=St. Martin's Press|date=February 1995|url=https://archive.org/details/sinsofmother00efti}}
*{{Cite book|last=Rekers|first=George|title=Susan Smith: Victim or Murderer|isbn=0-944435-38-6|publisher=Glenbridge Publishing|date=September 1995|url=https://archive.org/details/susansmithvictim00reke}}
*{{Cite book|last=Russell|first=Linda|author2=Stephens, Shirley|title=My Daughter Susan Smith|isbn=978-0-9701076-1-9|publisher=Authors Book Nook|date=April 2000}}
*{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=David|title=Beyond All Reason: My Life With Susan Smith|isbn=978-0-8217-5220-3|publisher=Zebra|date=July 1995|url=https://archive.org/details/beyondallreasonm00smit}}
*South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED); ''SLED Latent Print and Crime Scene Worksheet: Flotation Characteristics of 1990 Mazda Protege; May 24, 1995''

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20010413220920/http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/year_in_review/us/smith.html U.S. News Year in Review – Susan Smith Trial – Dec. 28, 1995] – [[CNN]]
* {{Find a Grave|21466|Michael & Alexander Smith Memorial}}
* [http://public.doc.state.sc.us/scdc-public/inmateDetails.do?id=%2000221487 Susan Smith SCDOC Inmate Details]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0LP_D11dgU Susan Smith November 2024 Parole hearing] - [[Court TV]]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Susan}}
[[Category:1971 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American criminals]]
[[Category:20th-century American women]]
[[Category:American female criminals]]
[[Category:American female murderers]]
[[Category:American murderers of children]]
[[Category:American people convicted of murder]]
[[Category:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:Criminals from South Carolina]]
[[Category:Female murderers of children]]
[[Category:Filicides in the United States]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People convicted of murder by South Carolina]]
[[Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by South Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Union, South Carolina]]
[[Category:People with mood disorders]]
[[Category:People with personality disorders]]
[[Category:Racial hoaxes]]