Susan Smith denied parole 30 years after drowning sons by rolling car into lake

First, I want to say how very sorry I am,

Smith said as she broke down sobbing

I am not the monster society thinks I am,

she wrote in a letter to The State newspaper in 2015.

I’m here to advocate on Michael and Alex’s behalf as their father,

he told the parole board

We all felt like Susan was a really disturbed person,

juror Deborah Benvenuti told reporters following the verdict, according to the Washington Post

I’ll never forget what Susan has done and I’ll never forget Michael and Alex,

he said

I am a Christian and I know that God has forgiven me."

But in closing, she said

I would give anything if I could go back and change it,

Smith said, taking off her glasses and wiping her eyes

It's been a tough 30 years,

said David Smith, who stressed that

I knew Jesus would take better care of them than I could,

Smith wrote, according to Thomas

I don’t think she will ever be able to forgive herself.”

But,

God gives us free will and that was her choice that night, nobody else’s choice. Nobody made it for her. She made the choice to murder Michael and Alex,

David told Today

I am really sad today and just want to hang out in the bed. Today is my youngest son’s birthday, he would have been 30 today. Hard to believe,

Smith wrote in August 2023

The jury believed she got a life sentence and that’s what she should serve,

Pope said last month shortly after the parole hearing was announced

He's going to testify as to how his life was altered because of this,

Bland said

Under normal circumstances… it's been 30 years… and oftentimes, victims' families themselves say, ‘Look, has she served enough?’ You know, we're a very Christian state, so people believe in forgiveness,

Bland said

I was very emotionally distraught. I didn't want to live anymore! I felt like things could never get any worse,

Smith wrote in her confession letter, obtained by Fox News Digital

I believe the jury intended for her to serve a full life sentence,

Tommy Pope, the prosecutor who helped convict Smith in her case, told Fox News Digital

The South Carolina State House has a better chance of getting hit with a meteor tonight than Susan Smith will have at getting parole tomorrow,

Attorney Eric Bland, who has represented victims of Alex Murdaugh, another notorious South Carolina murder case, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday

He was livid, like, ‘Are you out of your mind?’,

Bland added, noting

The whole story sounded highly unlikely, ... Never are you hearing a carjacker taking children normally."

Pope said in the Fox Nation special