Susan Smith's Former Prison Lover Says Child Killer 'Belongs in Jail for the Rest of Her Life' Ahead of Parole Bid
Susan Smith's former prison lover wants her to remain behind bars.
Oct. 11 2026, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
Susan Smith may be begging for another shot at freedom – but even the woman who said she was once the notorious child killer's prison lover thinks Smith should stay locked up for life, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
"She is where she belongs," declared former inmate Tracey Thompson, who says she and Smith were hot and heavy for four years behind bars. "She did something horrible. She belongs in jail for the rest of her life."
'I Think She’s a Sociopath'
Smith faces fierce opposition ahead of parole hearings.
And Thompson offers a more chilling assessment of her former sweetheart: "I think she’s a sociopath. You'd have to be a sociopath to do what she did!"
Smith became one of the most hated women in America in 1994 after drowning her two little boys – 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander – by strapping the tots into her Mazda and letting the car roll into a South Carolina lake.
She then claimed that a Black man had carjacked her and kidnapped the children, and spent nine days making tearful TV pleas for their safe return before finally confessing.
Susan Smith Regrets Crime?
The ex-girlfriend claimed Smith wept daily while expressing deep regret.
Now, Smith is shedding tears again – this time over the kids she admits she cruelly killed.
Thompson claims that Smith wept constantly for her sons during their years together at Leath Correctional Institution.
"She cried every day, every day, for those boys," she said. "She always missed them. She regretted what she did."
Yet Thompson said Smith never actually discussed the murders with her. "She did talk about how much she missed the kids every minute of every day," she shared.
Possible Motive
Traumatic childhood experiences fueled deep-seated psychological demons.
Prosecutors said Smith killed the boys because the wealthy man she was having an affair with didn't want children.
Smith's lawyers pointed instead to her troubled history and mental health problems, and Thompson also believed her former lover's demons ran much deeper: Smith had suffered childhood trauma and sexual abuse, and Thompson said those experiences contributed to what went terribly wrong.
'I Don’t Want Her to Get Out'
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Upcoming November hearings threatened to reopen old wounds.
A jury convicted Smith of two counts of murder in 1995 and sentenced her to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Her first bid for freedom was rejected in November 2024 after the boys’ father, David Smith, pleaded with the parole board to keep his ex-wife behind bars.
She gets another chance at parole on November 19.
But Thompson won’t be cheering her on. Despite saying that she still cares about Smith, the former bank robber is adamant that some crimes carry a lifelong price.
“I don’t want her to get out,” she insisted.
