Susan Smith is competent to stand trial even though she suffers from a mental disability that could have played a role in the drownings of her two young sons, a newspaper reported Thursday.
A recently completed evaluation by the state Department of Mental Health says Smith's disability includes severe depression, but she is not insane, unidentified sources told The (Columbia) State.Police say Smith, 23, confessed to driving her car into a lake with her two sons strapped into their car seats. Her murder trial begins July 10, and she could get the electric chair if convicted.
A verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity would send her to a mental hospital until doctors and a judge found her sane. A verdict of guilty but mentally ill would mean she could be sentenced to life in prison or death.
Defense attorney David Bruck says he probably will pursue a defense that hinges on her mental state at the time.
On Wednesday, investigators dredged up painful memories for residents when they rolled Smith's car into murky lake waters to re-enact what her two boys may have seen in their final moments.
"She confessed to killing them," said Kellie Allen, who said she knew Smith as a child. "Who cares how long it took for the car to go underwater? We don't need to hear that kind of stuff."