EXCLUSIVE: Susan Smith Insists She 'Was a Good Mother' as She Begs for Parole 30 Years After Deliberately Drowning Her Two Young Sons in a Lake
Susan Smith defended her parenting skills as her parole hearing approaches.
Nov. 11 2026, Published 3:15 p.m. ET
Convicted child killer Susan Smith wants the world to know she considers herself a "good mother," RadarOnline.com can report.
Her declaration comes after the South Carolina woman strapped her two young sons into her car and drowned them in a lake three decades ago.
Susan Smith Insists She Loved Her Boys
Smith drowned her two young boys in a lake in 1994.
As Radar reported, Smith – who initially claimed an African American man was responsible for kidnapping her late sons Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months – rolled her Mazda Protege into John D. Long Lake in Union, S.C. Her two young sons were later found still strapped into their seats.
After serving 30 years of her life sentence, the 55-year-old is coming up for parole on Nov. 19, and wants her critics to know she is a changed woman.
"I am not the monster society thinks I am," she previously declared in an emotional plea from behind bars. "I am far from it."
"I was a good mother and I loved my boys," she insisted. "I was not in my right mind."
Susan Smith's Reportedly Killed Her Sons for a Lover
The boys' bodies were found in the car, still strapped to the seat.
Smith reportedly killed the boys because the wealthy man with whom she was having an affair didn't want children, something she adamantly denies.
"The thing that hurts me most is that people think I hurt my children in order to be with a man," Smith railed. "That’s so far from the truth."
On November 3, 1994, nine days after the boys disappeared, Susan confessed to investigators that she had drowned her sons. Her confession ended a nationwide search for the children and led to her arrest on two counts of murder.
Susan Smith 'Planned to Kill Herself' After Killing Her Sons
Smith previously came up for parole in 2024.
The mom said that when she realized what she had done, she tried to end her life.
"I had planned to kill myself first and leave a note behind telling what had happened," Smith wrote in a letter. "I didn't believe I could face my family when the truth was revealed."
Before her trial, Smith's mom, Linda Russell, supported her daughter, saying, "She misses those boys so bad. She's having such a hard time living right now."
Smith's attorney, David Bruck, added, "The full horror of what has happened is just now bearing down on her. She says over and over: 'I want to die.'"
Susan Smith's First Parole Hearing Was Unsuccessful
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She apologized for her crime, but was still denied freedom.
Prison records indicate that Smith remains incarcerated at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood, South Carolina. Per the terms of her life sentence, she is allowed to seek parole after serving at least 30 years.
On November 20, 2024, Smith appeared before the South Carolina parole board via video conference for her first-ever parole hearing.
During the hearing, Susan acknowledged the severity of her crimes, saying, "I know that what I did was horrible. And I would give anything if I could go back and change it. I love Michael and Alex with all my heart."
The parole board ultimately voted unanimously to deny Susan's request.
