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20 years later, Susan Smith tells newspaper she never intended to kill her sons

Posted at 12:22 PM, Jul 22, 2015
and last updated 2015-07-23 08:58:12-04

Columbia, SC – Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother sentenced to life in prison in 1995 for murdering her two young sons has written a letter to a South Carolina newspaper saying she never planned to kill her children.

  • Read Susan Smith’s letter to The State – Page 1 | Page 2

Smith admitted to driving her car into a lake with her 3-year-old son Michael and 14-month old son Alex inside.

She originally told police she had been carjacked by a man who drove away with her sons.

According to The State, Smith said in the letter she never planned to kill the children and lied about them being kidnapped because “I didn’t know how to tell the people who loved Michael and Alex that they would never see them again.”

Smith explained that she planned to kill herself and leave behind a note explaining what happened.

The State newspaper send Smith a letter in August of 2014 asking her to share her experience for the 20th anniversary of her conviction. Smith explained in her reply that she was unable to respond in a timely manner because the letter had to be reviewed first.

The letter received by The State is dated January 19th, 2015.