Pamela Smart Asks Court To Commute Her Life Sentence

Pamela Smart, the former schoolteacher who convinced her teenage lover and his friends to kill her husband, Gregg Smart, made a new bid for freedom by requesting court commute her sentence.

Smart put in her request to New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and the Executive Board of the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, on the grounds, she “accepted responsibility for her role in Gregg Smart’s murder, expressed deep remorse and anguish concerning her conduct.”

In May 1990, Pamela found Gregg shot to death in their shared home. The police charged Smart and her four students with murder. Her student and lover, Billy Flynn, believed with Gregg out of the way, Pamela would continue their affair.

The four students are out of prison, and now, Smart thinks it is her turn at a chance at freedom.

Smart Has Always Claimed To Be Innocent

Pamela has assumed none of responsibility for Gregg’s murder until now. She sat in prison for decades, claiming her legal team would prove the students acted alone, and she did not know their plan.

In 2019, just two years ago, Smart told the media she would admit no role in Gregg’s death because she was innocent. She said she would rather sit in prison than confess to something she simply did not do. According to Newsweek, it seems she has changed her mind and assumed some responsibility so she could possibly qualify for parole.

“For many years, I blamed others for my incarceration because I was immature, selfish and proud. I refused to see my own role in Gregg’s death. It took years, even decades, for me to accept responsibility, and I must carry that burden,” Pamela wrote.

Smart Begs For Mercy

Pamela asked for mercy from the parole board, stating her parents were growing older and may not have much time left. She wants to spend time with them, trying to make amends for everything they lost over the past three decades.

She promised, if released, to spend the rest of her life doing good things for others and making a good imprint in society. While in prison, Smart earned several college degrees and ordained minister. She spends much of her time counseling other inmates. Her former warren wrote a letter supporting her release.

“This burden is something I can never- and should never- be free of, because my actions have forever changed the course of many lives, including my own,” Smart wrote.

Will This Bid For Freedom Work?

Sununu confirmed his office received the letter, and he is considering it. He wouldn’t reveal any more details about the status. The New Hampshire governor said, “If the council wants to take it up as a hearing, then we always kind of lean on them to decide if that’s the right path forward."

Gov. Chris Sununu and the council rejected Pamela’s 2019 request for parole without a hearing. Smart exhausted all her appeals, leaving her with a slim chance at freedom. The executive council, the board that approves pardons, denied two prior requests from Smart. Currently, the attorney general’s office is reviewing the 300-page request, and will make a recommendation.

"I have now spent over 31 years in prison — more than half my life. I apologize to the Smart family, my own family, and all who were directly or indirectly impacted by my actions and misjudgment," Smart wrote.

Smart’s letter to the governor and prison was calculating. She apologized, taking responsibility for the crime without admitting she helped the teens plan the murder. By her quotes, you can tell, the convicted murderer still maintains she did not plan Gregg’s murder. She confessed to being young and immature in trusting the wrong people.

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