In New Hampshire, Pamela Smart’s lawyers hope a judge will approve her latest request for a new trial. Smart is serving a life sentence for orchestrating her husband’s 1990 murder by a teenage student. Her trial was one of the first to be broadcast live on television. At 22, Smart was a high school media coordinator who began an affair with a 15-year-old boy who later killed her husband, Gregory Smart, in Derry.
The shooter was released in 2015 after completing a 25-year sentence. Although Smart denied knowing about the plot, she was convicted as an accomplice to first-degree murder and other crimes, receiving a life sentence without parole. Her habeas corpus relief petition aims to overturn her conviction due to alleged constitutional violations. Smart, now 58, will attend the hearing remotely from the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York.
Smart’s lawyers argue the prosecution provided inaccurate transcripts during the trial. These included words not audible in Smart’s recorded conversations, such as ‘killed,’ ‘busted,’ and ‘murder.’ They claim jurors were misled by these transcripts, which directed them toward a guilty verdict. Attorney Matthew Zernhelt stated, ‘Modern science confirms what common sense has always told us: when people are handed a script, they inevitably hear the words they are shown.’
Her lawyers also argue the verdict was influenced by media attention and incorrect jury instructions. Jurors weren’t told to consider only evidence presented at trial. They faced a mandatory life sentence despite New Hampshire not requiring it for the charge.
State’s Position
The state’s lawyers requested the petition be dismissed, citing that most claims were already addressed by the New Hampshire Supreme Court. During the trial, Smart’s team only objected to transcript issues regarding ‘doubling’ of voices. Jurors were instructed to rely on what they heard if it differed from the transcripts. The state argues that Smart’s team hasn’t proven other claims, including ineffective assistance of counsel.
Smart’s legal options are limited. She has often sought a sentence reduction, but her requests were denied by a state council. Her appeal against one rejection was dismissed by the state Supreme Court in 2023. Her latest petition follows a rejection by New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Smart took responsibility for her husband’s death in a 2024 video, acknowledging years of deflecting blame.
Smart’s trial gained widespread media attention, highlighting a school employee-student affair. The student, William Flynn, testified that Smart insisted on the murder to avoid losing everything in a divorce, threatening to end their relationship if he didn’t comply. Flynn and three other teens aided prosecutors and have since been released. Flynn and Patrick Randall were sentenced to 28 years to life for second-degree murder. They entered the Smarts’ condominium, forced Gregory Smart to his knees, and Flynn shot him. The case inspired Joyce Maynard’s book “To Die For” and a 1995 film starring Nicole Kidman.