This is a notorious case from the States in 1994, in which a woman claimed that she had been the victim of a carjacking. What made it even more horrendous, was that she had her two young children in the car. Police were called and a manhunt began, and the woman, Susan Smith, made emotional pleas on TV, along with her husband, David, appealed for their safe return.
But a grisly discovery was made; the car was found in a river. The two young children were still inside, strapped in their car seats. Suddenly, Susan Smith went from receiving the sympathy of the nation, to being the most reviled woman in the nation. There was no carjacking. She had let the car run into a river with her children secured in seats, and let them drown. The reason was she wanted to be with another man, and he did not want her children cluttering up their relationship. This truly sick and twisted crime was a Death Penalty case, and so the defence brought in a woman to assist, who was a vocal opponent of the Death Penalty. They brought in various mental disorder scenarios as it was the only way to avoid the chair.
She was convicted and now it was down to the Jury to decide whether she went to jail or to Death Row. The Prosecution had a re-enactment of the car going into the river and just how long it took to sink. The filmed footage was shown to the judge, in the presence of both Prosecution and Defence but no Jury. During this, Smith was giggling which shocked the Prosecutor. The Judge allowed the film to be shown to the Jury, and this time, Smith was in tears! All for the benefit of the Jury. The Prosecutor was not allowed to reveal to the Jury, this behaviour of Smith. She was given life, with parole possible after thirty years. Her husband has moved on with his life and has two more children.
Do you decide to kill your children simply to be with somebody else? Is being with a man far more important than raising your kids? Can somebody so cold-bloodedly drown their own kids because a man does not want them in his life? Are they worth absolutely nothing and then suddenly become a massive burden to you sharing another mans` bed? Why could she not let her husband take them, as he was a devoted father? There is something missing inside when you can take such an horrific step. She giggled when when the Jury was excluded, then turned on the tears when they were there. Tells you all you need to know about her. She should have gone to Death Row.
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