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In 1991, 22-year-old Pamela Smart was convicted as an accomplice to first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole after she was accused of grooming a teenager and subsequently convincing him to kill her husband in 1990.
After spending over three decades in prison, on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, the New Hampshire Supreme Court rejected Pamela Smart’s fourth bid to overturn her life sentence.
As per multiple reports, Smart, now 55, had reportedly appealed for a sentence reduction twice before approaching a five-member Executive Council, which approves state contracts and appointees to the courts and state agencies, to reduce her sentence last year.
However, after the executive council rejected her third attempt at a sentence reduction, Smart reportedly approached the state supreme court, who then denied her appeal, stating that granting the request and asking the council to overturn their prior ruling would “violate the separation of powers.”
Details of Pamela Smart's role in her husband's murder explored
Pamela Smart was reportedly a 21-year-old high school media coordinator when she began an affair with a 15-year-old student, William Flynn, while married to her husband, Gregory Smart.
Pamela Smart was accused of convincing Flynn to kill her husband, who she allegedly suspected was going to divorce her. On May 1, 1990, William Flynn, alongside an accomplice, 17-year-old Patrick Randall, fatally shot Smart’s husband and then fled the scene.
Flynn and Randall, who were later apprehended, reportedly confessed to the killing and cooperated with the investigations in exchange for a second-degree murder charge. They also told investigators that he was coerced by Smart into killing her husband.
Shortly after, Smart was arrested and subsequently became the subject of a high-profile trial due to her romantic entanglement with a minor. Smart, who maintained her innocence throughout the trial, was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
While Flynn and the other accomplices served years behind bars for their role in the killing, they have since been paroled from prison. However, Smart’s repeated attempts at appealing her sentence have been thwarted by authorities who said that the suspect had not taken any accountability for her part in the orchestrated crime.
After facing multiple rejections on appeal, in her third attempt with the executive council last year, Smart apologized for the first time to her husband’s family and admitted her role in the crime. However, the authorities found that she failed to accept full responsibility.
After the Supreme Court rejected Smart's fourth bid at overturning her sentence, in an emailed statement to the Associated Press, Smart's spokeswoman, Eleanor Pam, said:
"This ruling by the New Hampshire Supreme Court is a continuing disappointment that devastates our hopes for Pamela Smart finally receiving reasonable and fair treatment in the State of New Hampshire."
She added:
"(Smart) has never been given the opportunity to be heard or allowed to make her case directly. Pamela Smart is fully rehabilitated and is no danger to society."
According to CBS News, Smart has reportedly earned two master's degrees behind bars, tutored fellow inmates, and is part of an inmate liaison committee.
