Talk:Susan Smith

Use of "alleged"

 * indicating that Smith could not have put the car into the lake from the top of the boat ramp by releasing the Mazda's hand brake as alleged by the state because of a pre-existing mechanical flaw in the car's braking system

This isn't just "alledged by the state," it's in her own confession.Thanos6 12:59, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

Need for description of defense strategy
This article would be improved by clear information about the defense strategy and excuses given by Smith and those around her in the community...

Fringe theory of innocence
I am bothered by the fact that about half the space in the entry is devoted to what seems to be a fringe theory that she didn't do it. It seems totally disproportionate. Uucp 20:10, 17 January 2006 (UTC)


 * I concur. In a close-knit community, which I presume is the case here, that may not be all that unusual. But let's face it, she did confess...and I personally have heard no conspiracy theories or anything to indicate otherwise. Engr105th (talk) 22:56, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Beverly Russell
Smith's father-in-law's civic associations are notable because those organizations are outspoken in their defense of the "moral values" which Russell admittedly violated.--Son of Somebody 03:17, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

"She was spared the death penalty in a decision by her South Carolina jury, after her stepfather, Beverly Russell, a prominent Union County citizen, Republican Party and Christian Coalition leader, testified that he had sexually molested her when she was a teenager (until the intervention of the local Department of Social Services), and again in the months before the drowning of the two boys."

I'm not so sure about that conclusion. In the "crime library", http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/smith/phase_10.html, you can read, that the jury gave a different reason:

"Later when jurors were asked about their decision, they acknowledged that they knew of Sheriff Wells’ comments after Susan’s arrest. Wells had said that if Susan Smith had not confessed, investigators would probably not have been able to amass enough evidence to charge her with the crimes she committed. Jurors saw that Susan had an opportunity to escape punishment, yet she chose not to do so. The jury recognized this fact and considered it a reason to spare her life."

however, there is no clear source to these statements, yet leaves the part of the article at least to be questioned... 143.117.78.124 15:59, 26 January 2007 (UTC) G.Debus

WikiProject class rating
This article was automatically assessed because at least one article was rated and this bot brought all the other ratings up to at least that level. BetacommandBot 04:43, 28 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Come again? 68.219.72.84 03:04, 6 October 2007 (UTC)

Confession circumstances ?
Although I only dimly recall it, didn't the Sheriff have the lake searched (with divers, or maybe dragged) a week or several days before Susan's confession, and announce that they had found nothing? And didn't he receive some acolades for his handling of the case, afterwards? From what I recall (again, only my memory) the upshot was that without a confession, the authorities knew they could not disprove the nondescript-Black-hijacker story that Smith told. But to their credit they didn't haul in black males when there was motivation by Smith (her relationship with a wealthy lover) to commit the crime. Instead they played along til her emotions broke...

In a lot of crimes, sharp cops already have a good idea of what happened before they go public with info or forward with interrogations of suspects. If thats the case here, anybody know any sources?? Thanks....Engr105th (talk) 23:14, 11 January 2008 (UTC)

Newt Gingrich
This page needs some information on this quote from Newt Gingrich:

"I think the mother killing her two children in South Carolina vividly reminds every American how sick society is getting and how much we have to have change[...]I think people want to change, and the only way you can get change is to vote Republican."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E0D91339F930A15752C1A963958260 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.233.216.217 (talk) 21:01, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Workout video?
The problem with her workout video is that its main exercise is pushing cars into lakes. →Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 05:27, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

I removed the workout video line. It cited the Weekly World News, which is known for such other hard hitting journalistic stories as "Hitler's Nose Cloned, and it's Growing a Mustache!" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.99.106.77 (talk) 14:41, 6 October 2009 (UTC)

Actual Sentence?
The article currently states she is sentenced to life, but on the DocuDrama "Deadly Women," season 3, episode 10 "mothers who kill,"  it is reported that she was sentenced to 30 years. Both the docudrama and the statment in the current article are unsourced. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.25.145.205 (talk) 03:41, 9 November 2013 (UTC)
 * She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.169.28.113 (talk) 07:41, 28 November 2017 (UTC)
 * No, she was not denied possibility of parole

Please shorten.
I find these contiguous sentences:

>At the intersection where she claimed to have been carjacked, no other cars appeared. The biggest breakthrough of the case was her description of the carjacking location. She claimed that lights at the intersection where she stopped only turn red when a car approaches on the intersecting road. However, since she also claimed that no other cars were on the road at the time, she would have had no reason to stop at the intersection.

Regarding the 1st sentence I quoted, did SHE claim that no other cars appeared at the intersection in question? (There'd have been no witnesses to that except for the 2 since-drowned little boys.) It does say later she claimed no other cars were there. So could someone (who knows the case a little better than I) shorten these redundant remarks? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.63.16.20 (talk) 21:35, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

sentence being reworded
I find this:

>On the second day of the investigation, the police suspected that she knew her children's location and hoped that they were still alive.

Presumably it's the police who hoped the children were still alive, since it'll turn out Susan Smith knew about letting the car roll into the lake with them in it. I will change the sentence to: >On the second day of the investigation, the police, suspecting that she knew her children's location, hoped that they were still alive. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.63.16.20 (talk) 21:39, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

"At the intersection where she claimed to have been carjacked, no other cars appeared" This statement needs explaining. No other cars appeared when? At the time of the carjacking? Who is claiming this and what proof do they have? Video surveillance? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.185.6.70 (talk) 05:29, 21 September 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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dead link - therefore, should the line be removed that it was ref'd from?
15. http://www.writeaprisoner.com/Template.aspx?i=z-221487

There is no cache for this, either. AGF, this probably occurred, but it is not cited. The article states that in 2003 she posted an "ad" that was later retracted. Is there some other reliable source? 104.169.28.113 (talk) 07:46, 28 November 2017 (UTC)
 * what about these? 1) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/site-asks-kid-killer-to-remove-ad/ 2) http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/crime/article16688147.html  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 104.169.28.113 (talk) 07:54, 28 November 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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HLN cable network program
There is a 2 hour program, broken in 2 parts, about the Susan Smith case. Elsewhere, it's noted that she became U.S.'s most notorious murdering mother until that was lost in 2001 (when Andrea Yates drowned 5 children in Texas). Carlm0404 (talk) 04:16, 28 August 2019 (UTC)

Details of the false claim
Several IPs (user:174.110.3.209, user:97.113.77.31, user:2603:7000:b13f:97b6:1888:b1a5:3d49:a882. user:72.76.167.97, and a mobile IP I won't list) have recently attempted to add the detail that Smith claimed it was "Black" man (or an "armed Black" man) who carjacked her and kidnapped her sons. This has been undone by me, user:Krillzyx, user:Patrolex, and user:24.40.230.202. This covers July and August. I didn't look further back.

I don't think the specific details of a false claim are important, particularly in the lead. She could have claimed instead that it was a white man wielding a knife. or a ballerina in a tutu, or a clown wearing a red nose and face paint, and it would have changed nothing. Who cares? Unless there is some discussion of this being an example of an attempt to demonize Black men (and there is no such discussion in this article) I think this should remain out. Meters (talk) 19:21, 23 August 2021 (UTC)


 * There are numerous articles about it and its significance.  Notfrompedro (talk) 17:46, 31 August 2021 (UTC)


 * Virtually every news source about the case mentions that she falsely accused a "black man" of killing her children. They mention this precisely because it is a significant detail that added another layer to this notorious story (and why it remains so popular). Smith's claim has been seen as an example of the wider stereotyping in America (and beyond) of black men as dangerous criminals. I wouldn't be surprised if that little detail is the main reason anyone looks up this case today. (Indeed, if you look at the page-view stats for comparable filicidal mothers from the last ~50 years -- Susan Smith's page receives 10 to 100 times more views than others (e.g., Marie Noe, Martha Ann Johnson, Marybeth Tinning)).


 * Since most of the edits over the past few years are about this fact (and most appear to be the same person at different IP address), I'm going to move for semi-protection. -Tiredmeliorist (talk) 14:09, 30 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Update: It was granted for 3 months  -Tiredmeliorist (talk) 18:40, 30 November 2021 (UTC)
 * Actually, it's only pending-changes protected. Essentially, this means that edits by IPs or non-autoconfirmed editors won't go "live" until approved by a pending-changes reviewer. And I have watchlisted the article to get more eyes on it. Regards. Lectonar (talk) 18:48, 30 November 2021 (UTC)


 * Given continuous vandalism -- both before protections expired and increasing afterward -- I've requested elevated page protections Tiredmeliorist (talk) 15:55, 10 April 2022 (UTC)

Media Reference
The whole South Park episode “Butters Very Own Episode” is pretty much a spoof of this lady murdering her kids. Butters moms lets the car roll into a lake and she lies to the media about her kid being kidnapped by “Some Puerto Rican guy”. I’m not good with writing articles or editing so maybe someone who’s familiar with the episode can add that to the Media References. 216.147.123.122 (talk) 05:56, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

Media reference
The story of the murders, told from the perspective of Smith, is the subject of a song, “Paper Gown,” by Caroline Herring on her 2008 album Lantana. Eighthnotesandamillionfacts (talk) 13:17, 24 May 2024 (UTC)