A 22-YEAR-OLD WHEN FIRST INCARCERATED, SMART NOW 56 YEARS OLD HAS SPENT OVER THREE DECADES IN NEW YORK’S BEDFORD HILLS PRISON
(June 12, 2024, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, NY) Pam Smart, 22 years old when she was convicted of being an accomplice in the murder of her husband, is now 56 years old, having served almost 34 years of a Life Without Parole sentence.
While she has served her sentence in New York State for the last three decades, it is the State of New Hampshire’s Governor and the Executive Council who can commute her sentence.
In a video statement accompanying her petition for commutation, Smart has requested a meeting with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, where she hopes to have the opportunity to express her remorse, take responsibility for the death of her husband, discuss her transformation into an accomplished and highly educated woman, and answer any question the Governor or his Executive Council may have.
“I’m respectfully asking for the opportunity to come before you, the New Hampshire Executive Council, and have an honest conversation with you about my incarceration, my acceptance of responsibility, and any concerns you might have, any questions. If I could come in person or via video conference so that we could share an honest conversation, I would be extremely grateful for that.”
Smart goes on to say that she is a far different person from the 22-year-old who was convicted of being an accomplice to murder. Today, she is an accomplished, thoughtful, highly educated women who has spent much of her 34 years in prison contributing to helping many other women who have been incarcerated with her.
Pamela Smart accepts responsibility for her role in her husband’s murder and has expressed deep remorse and anguish concerning her conduct
“You know, now that I am older and able to look back on things, I can see so many errors that I made and I can see how skewed my judgment was and how immature I was. Looking backwards, you know, I, I’m such a different person than I was and more thoughtful before, you know, I think things through before I make decisions, and less impulsive and just more responsible and mature than I was back then. I mean it’s, 34 years is a very long time and during that time I’ve done a lot of work on myself and a lot of spiritual work and just had a, a big growth in who I am and how I deal with things and people.”
Smart is believed to be the longest serving female inmate in New York’s Bedford Hills Women’s prison, where she was sent by the state of New Hampshire after her 1991 conviction and sentenced to life Without the Possibility of Parole. Ms. Smart was convicted of murder when she was 22 years old. Pamela Smart will likely die in prison. The four young men who were involved in the murder were released years ago.
Smart has gained the unyielding support of former inmates who Smart had mentored, as well that of the former warden at Bedford Hills, attesting to Smart’s rehabilitation and requesting she be granted a commutation.
In over three decades in prison, Smart has contributed to the lives of many women as she has tutored hundreds of inmates for their GEDs and college degrees, provided HIV/AIDS counseling to inmates, and taken on leadership roles within the prison’s “Rehabilitation Through the Arts” program and the Church community. Her life has been transformed, earning a PhD in Biblical Studies, a master’s in literature and one in Law. Smart has gained the unyielding support of former inmates who Smart had mentored, as well that of the former warden at Bedford Hills, attesting to Smart’s rehabilitation and requesting she be granted a commutation.
A recent letter sent to Governor Sununu from Smart’s correction department supervisor at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility attests to her readiness to reenter society.
“My name is Quandera Quick, and I have been an employee of New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) for over 18 years. I worked previously for many years as a correction officer, and I am currently Pamela Smart’s direct supervisor and work with her on a daily basis. While I have not been at this facility long enough to witness her personal growth throughout her years here, upon my arrival I met an individual who appears to be a kind, patient, and dedicated human being. While I am certainly familiar with her case, after observing her daily, I can say she seems to be worlds away from the person the media portrayed her to be. From my time here at Bedford Hills, I can see Pamela is well-respected and also depended upon by both those incarcerated with her and the security and civilian staff here.”
This is the fourth time Pamela Smart has gone before the Governor and the Executive Council seeking a commutation. In Smart’s last Clemency petition, March 2022, she was denied the right to present her case. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and his Executive Council took just two minutes to decide against granting Pam Smart even a hearing to review her Petition for Commutation. Smart had submitted a detailed petition containing a chronology of her years in prison and how she had taken enormous steps in her rehabilitation from the time she was incarcerated to today. The five Councilmembers and the Governor denied her a hearing to discuss the merits of her request to be released from prison.
Attorney Ron Kuby said, “Pamela Smart is the longest serving female prisoner in the State and is destined to die there unless the New Hampshire Executive Council acts. All she is seeking is a fair hearing before the counsel, where she can present evidence of who she is now, rather than the person she was when she was twenty-two. Everyone who knows Ms. Smart, and every expert who has examined her, unanimously agree that she has become an asset to society and poses the lowest possible risk of recidivism. Yet she is bound by an inflexible sentence that was imposed some 35 years ago. It is time for a re-examination.”
Pamela Smart is represented by Mark Sisti, New Hampshire, Law Offices of Ronald Kuby, and Professor Steven Zeidman, Director of the Second Look Project: Beyond Guilt at CUNY School of Law. Lonnie Soury is a consultant to the defense team.
See Pamela Smart’s Petition for Commutation and other documents:
https://pamelasmart.org/wp-content/uploads/Petition-for-Commutation-Packet-6-7-24.pdf
