Pamela Smart Seeks New Trial Amid Constitutional Violation Claims

In Concord, N.H., Pamela Smart’s legal team is advocating for a new trial. Smart, currently serving life in prison for her involvement in organizing her husband’s murder, filed a new petition. Her lawyers hope a New Hampshire judge will advance this petition, granting her another chance in court.

Smart’s 1990 trial was a significant media event, being one of the first to be televised live. At 22, Smart, a high school media coordinator, began a relationship with a 15-year-old student who later killed her husband, Gregory Smart, in Derry. Despite denying involvement in the murder plot, Smart received a life sentence without parole, convicted as an accomplice to first-degree murder and other charges. The shooter was released in 2015 after serving 25 years.

Habeas Corpus Petition and Allegations

In January, Smart filed a habeas corpus petition, challenging her conviction based on alleged constitutional violations. Her case will be remotely presented from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in New York, where she is imprisoned. Her legal team argues that errors in trial recordings and transcripts misled jurors. They claim additional words like “killed” and “murder” were incorrectly included in transcripts of recorded conversations.

“When people are given a script, they often hear what is written,” noted Smart’s attorney, Matthew Zernhelt, earlier this year.

Smart’s lawyers claim these inaccuracies, along with media pressure and improper jury instructions, influenced the verdict. They emphasize that the jury was not properly guided on considering only trial evidence. Moreover, they argue the mandatory life sentence without parole for being an accomplice was unjustified under New Hampshire law.

State’s Stance and Past Appeals

The state attorneys are seeking dismissal of Smart’s petition, arguing that most claims were addressed in her previous appeals before the New Hampshire Supreme Court. They noted that during the original trial, Smart’s defense raised few issues about the transcripts. Jurors were instructed to trust the audio over written transcripts if discrepancies existed.

Smart’s legal team has further failed to prove claims like ineffective counsel and the jurisdictional argument regarding the New York trial locale, according to the state’s lawyers. Her prior attempts seeking a sentence reduction and presenting cases to the state councils have not succeeded. In a significant decision, Gov. Kelly Ayotte denied her 2023 request to revisit the case. She concluded the case was not suitable for a hearing, after reviewing all materials.

Public Responsibility and Case Legacy

In 2024, Smart publicly accepted responsibility for her husband’s murder, acknowledging her past attempts to deflect accountability. Her trial marked a major case, highlighting the complex dynamics involving a school employee and a student affair. The student, William Flynn, testified against Smart. Flynn stated Smart urged him to kill her husband to avoid losing everything in a divorce. He testified she threatened to end their affair if he did not comply.

Flynn performed the killing with the assistance of three other teens, all of whom have been released after serving time. The incident led to Joyce Maynard’s 1992 book, To Die For, which was adapted into a film in 1995, starring Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix.