Crime Library: Criminal Minds and Methods

Sex, Lies & Murder: The Pamela Smart Case

10 Years After

Pamela Smart spoke in a rare interview to the Portsmouth Herald from the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in Bedford Hills, N.Y., where she is currently serving her sentence. Ten years after the murder she seeks a new trial, claiming that her life is "stressful, sad, painful and tragic." She continues to proclaim her innocence: "I have spent 10 years in prison for a crime I had no involvement in," Smart said. "I have been horribly punished for having an affair. The sentence I received is, in effect, a sentence of death in that I will never be eligible for parole."

Her appeal in 1991 was denied. In 1997 she sought a new trial, which was also denied yet she continues in her efforts to get a new trial underway. While incarcerated, two women assaulted Pam and she brought them to court, the judge deciding in her favor.

Flynn, Lattime and Randall, in their mid-20s, are all housed in the Thomaston State Prison in Maine. They all earned their GEDs: Flynn joined a prison ministry group; Lattime works in the print shop while Randall learned carpentry. Lattime's sentence was reduced by three years making him eligible for parole in 2005. Randall and Flynn are eligible for parole in 2018, when they will be in their forties.

Cecelia Pierce signed up for $100,000 option for the screen rights to her story.

Reflecting 10 years later, Detective Pelletier said that the most important lesson he took away from the Smart case was "the importance of teamwork, of calling on the talents of all co-workers."

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