who was the district attorney who tried susan smith for drowning her children

by Ole Kunde Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 10 min read

Tommy Pope speaks out today, the 20-year anniversary of the conviction of a woman who drowned her children. Tommy Pope speaks out today, the 20-year anniversary of the conviction of a woman who drowned her children.Jul 22, 2015

What happened to Susan Smith’s sons?

On July 22, 1995, Susan Smith was convicted of two counts of murder after intentionally drowning her two sons, Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months old. It was on October 25, 1994, that she reported to police that a black man had carjacked her vehicle with the boys inside, For 9 days, with her husband by her side, she pleaded for their safe return.

What happened to Susan Leigh Smith?

In October 1994, Susan Leigh Smith of South Carolina strapped her boys into her car, drove it straight into John D. Long Lake, and then tried to blame it all on a Black man. Starting at a very early age, Susan Smith suffered unspeakable tragedy. Her father killed himself when she was just six years old, and she tried to follow suit at age 13.

Who is Susan Smith and what did she do?

Susan Smith. Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith (born September 26, 1971) is an American convict who was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 30 years for murdering her two children, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander.

What happened to the woman who married David Smith?

She married David Smith, and they had two sons. The relationship was rocky due to mutual allegations of infidelity, and they separated several times. On October 25, 1994, Smith reported to police that her vehicle had been carjacked by a man who drove away with her sons still inside.

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Who defended Susan Smith?

Her defense attorneys, David Bruck and Judy Clarke, called expert witnesses to testify that she had mental health issues that impaired her judgment when she committed the crimes. Smith was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Who drove her kids into a lake?

Will Andrea Yates ever be released?

In a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict the court has jurisdiction over you for as long as your sentence would have been. In Yates' case, that's the rest of her life. Parnham says she has waived her appearance for a review every year. Passing that review would be the only way she could ever be released.

What is Rusty Yates doing now?

According to a website he established in his children's memory, Rusty is a former NASA engineer who remarried after divorcing Andrea a few years after the killings. Rusty now has an 8-year-old son with his second wife, who filed for divorce last year.

Overview

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 14-month-old Alexander, in 1994 by drowning them in a South Carolina lake.
The case gained international attention because of Smith's false claim that a black man had kidnapped her sons during a carjacking. Her defense attorneys, David Bruck and Judy Clarke, called expert …

Family background

Smith rarely had a stable home life growing up. Her father committed suicide when she was six years old, and Smith herself attempted suicide at age 13. Her mother then married Beverly Russell, a member of the local chapter of the Christian Coalition, who later was revealed to have molested Smith when she was a teenager. One newspaper claimed that sexual relations between them had continued until six months before the murders.

Crimes

On October 25, 1994, Smith reported to police that her vehicle had been carjacked by a black man who drove away with her sons still inside. 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, drowning them inside. Her motivation was reportedly to facilitate a relationship with …

Incarceration

Smith was incarcerated in the Administrative Segregation Unit in the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina.
During Smith's incarceration at the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution, two correctional officers, Lieutenant Houston Cagle and Captain Alfred R. Rowe Jr., were charged after having sex with her. Consequently, she was moved to the Leath Correctional Institution in Gr…

In popular culture

The 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, to which she replies "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.

External links

• U.S. News Year in Review – Susan Smith Trial – Dec. 28, 1995 – CNN
• Michael & Alexander Smith Memorial at Find a Grave
• Susan Smith SCDOC Inmate Details