Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507240092
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: UNION, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
The nine-man, three-woman jury deliberated for 21/2 hours before convicting Smith, rejecting defense arguments that the 23-year-old mother acted in a suicidal panic Oct. 25 when she released the hand brake on her car and sent it rolling into nearby John D. Long Lake with the tiny boys still strapped in their safety seats.
The cavernous white courtroom was still as the verdict was delivered. Smith's mother buried her face in her hands, while the defendant's former husband, David Smith, stood quietly across the aisle, a photograph of his dead sons in his shirt pocket.
``She knew it was wrong and she had a choice,'' lead prosecutor Tommy Pope shouted in his closing arguments. ``She made a choice that she would end the lives of those boys. That choice was one thing Michael and Alex Smith never had strapped in the car, screaming for help.
``This case screams - just as Michael and Alex screamed - this case screams out for a verdict of murder,'' Pope said.
But defense attorney Judy Clarke implored the jurors to have compassion for Smith, portrayed as a pitiable incest victim obsessed with suicide, tormented by failed relationships and desperate for love.
``This is not a case about evil,'' Clarke said. ``This is a case about despair and sadness. She had choices and decisions. Her choices were irrational and her decisions were tragic.
``She made a horrible, horrible decision to be at that lake that night. She made that decision with a confused mind and a heart without hope.
``Confusion is not evil and hopelessness is not malice.''
For 12 days, the trial has torn away at the soul of this deeply religious community of 10,000 with its dark revelations of incest and adultery, suicide and secret sorrows.
At the center of this gothic tale sat pale Susan Smith, jiggling her foot, biting her nails and rocking herself gently for hours on end at the defense table, her head usually bowed and her face turned away from the jury.
Smith earlier turned down a chance to address the jurors before they began deliberations, which Circuit Judge William Howard told her was her right in a death penalty case.
The defense's biggest battle lies ahead when the penalty phase begins Monday and jurors will weigh arguments that will ultimately determine whether Smith will be put to death.
by CNB