September 26, 1971

AKA: Susan Hallock Dey

Murderer

The product of a tragic family history, Susan Smith maintained. the outward appearance of a cheerful and friendly young woman. She became the center of national sympathy in October 1994, when she appeared on television to appeal to a kidnapper to return her two young sons—three-year-old Michael and fourteen- month-old Alex. For nine days, the public grieved with the distraught mother, who claimed an African American man had stolen her car, with the two boys inside. When Smith later confessed to having killed her children, public sympathy turned to outrage, disbelief, and anger concerning her racist accusations. Smith’s trial rekindled the ongoing debate over capital punishment. Many believed that her actions warranted the death penalty, while others questioned the morality of ending the life of a woman who was a mother and who suffered abuse as a...