> At a Glance
> – Pamela Smart, 57, is serving life without parole for plotting her husband’s 1990 murder
> – Her legal team filed habeas corpus petitions in New York and New Hampshire Monday
> – Lawyers claim jury saw doctored transcripts and trial was tainted by media frenzy
> – Why it matters: Case could set precedent for how media influence and evidence handling affect fair-trial rights
Pamela Smart, whose 1991 trial became a media spectacle, has launched a fresh legal fight to overturn her life sentence for orchestrating her husband’s murder. The petition, filed in both states where she is held and where the crime occurred, centers on claims that constitutional errors poisoned the verdict.
Constitutional Violations Claimed
Smart’s attorneys say prosecutors gave jurors inaccurate transcripts of secret recordings. Words that were inaudible on the tapes-“killed,” “busted,” and “murder”-still appeared in the written versions jurors relied on.
Matthew Zernhelt, one of Smart’s lawyers, explained:
> “Modern science confirms what common sense has always told us: when people are handed a script, they inevitably hear the words they are shown.”
The defense also argues:
- Jurors were instructed they must find premeditation without being told to weigh only trial evidence
- The mandatory life-without-parole sentence for an accomplice exceeds New Hampshire law
- Nonstop press coverage turned allegations into perceived facts
A Case That Captivated The Nation
Smart was a 22-year-old high-school media coordinator when she began an affair with 15-year-old student William Flynn. In May 1990 Flynn and three teens carried out the plan: Flynn shot Gregory Smart while an accomplice held a knife to his throat in the couple’s Derry condo.
Flynn and another teen received 28-years-to-life sentences and were paroled in 2015. Smart, convicted of accomplice-to-murder and other charges, remains behind bars.
Timeline of key events:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Gregory Smart murdered |
| 1991 | Pamela Smart sentenced to life without parole |
| 2015 | Flynn and Randall paroled |
| 2024 | Smart publicly accepts responsibility |
New Admission Meets Rebuff
For the first time Smart, now 57, acknowledged full responsibility in a June video, saying she spent decades “deflecting blame.” That admission came months after New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte refused to hold a sentence-reduction hearing, declaring the case undeserving after review.
State officials maintain the conviction was lawfully obtained and repeatedly upheld on appeal. A spokesperson for New Hampshire’s attorney general stated:
> “The State maintains Ms. Smart received a fair trial and that her convictions were lawfully obtained and upheld on appeal.”
Key Takeaways
- Smart’s petition targets alleged evidence tampering and prejudicial media climate
- Prosecutors stand by the integrity of the 1991 trial
- The case inspired the book and film To Die For, cementing its place in pop culture
- No hearing date has been set for the new habeas corpus claims
The legal battle revives questions about whether America’s early “trial-by-media” era deprived Smart of a fair day in court.
