Overview

• Susan Smith, now 53, confessed in 1994 to killing her sons, Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months, by rolling her car into a lake while they were strapped in their car seats.
• Smith initially claimed a Black man carjacked her vehicle, a false accusation that perpetuated harmful racial stereotypes and misled investigators for nine days.
• The parole board unanimously rejected her plea, citing opposition from the victims' family, prosecutors, and law enforcement, as well as the severity of her crime.
• Smith's defense pointed to untreated mental health issues and her troubled past, including abuse and trauma, as contributing factors to her actions.
• The case remains a true-crime touchstone, with Smith eligible for another parole hearing in two years under South Carolina law.