CONCORD, N.H. — Merrimack County Superior Court Judge James Kennedy dismissed Pamela Smart's petition for a new trial on Thursday. The ruling rejects arguments that inaccurate transcripts and prejudicial media coverage tainted her 1991 conviction.

Kennedy granted the state's motion to dismiss the petition. He stated that Smart's arguments either had been or could have been raised during earlier appeals that were also rejected. The judge further stated that the arguments lacked merit even if they had not been previously addressed.

Smart filed a petition for habeas corpus relief in January. Her lawyers argued that prosecutors misled the jury by providing inaccurate transcripts of surreptitiously recorded conversations. The defense claimed the transcripts included words not audible on the recordings, such as "killed" in the sentence "you had your husband killed. They also claimed the transcripts included the word busted" in the sentence "I’m gonna be busted" and the word "murder" in the sentence "this would have been the perfect murder."

Smart's lawyers cited a forensic study suggesting that providing transcripts with muffled audio can lead listeners to believe inaccurate written text. Kennedy said the forensic study's legal relevancy was dubious" because it was not published or available to read in full. He said the description of the study provided by Smart's attorneys failed to identify any inaccuracies. Kennedy held a hearing on the petition in July before issuing his September decision."

Smart is serving life in prison without parole at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, a maximum security prison in Westchester County, New York. She was 59 years old at the time of the ruling. She was convicted in 1991 of being an accomplice to first-degree murder and other crimes.

Smart denied knowledge of the plot at the time of the crime. In 2024, Smart took responsibility for her husband’s death. She said she spent years deflecting blame “almost as if it was a coping mechanism.” Smart's trial was one of the first in the nation to be broadcast live on television from start to finish. The case inspired Joyce Maynard’s 1992 book “To Die For” and the 1995 film of the same name starring Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix.

Why It Matters

The dismissal reinforces the finality of Smart's 1991 conviction by barring claims that could have been raised in prior appeals. The ruling addresses long-standing disputes over trial evidence and media influence that have persisted for decades. Smart remains incarcerated at a maximum security facility in New York with no possibility of parole.

Timeline

In 1989, Smart was a 22-year-old high school media coordinator when she began an affair with a 15-year-old student. Gregory Smart was fatally shot in Derry in 1990. Smart was convicted in 1991 of being an accomplice to first-degree murder and other crimes.

At the time of the crime, Smart denied knowledge of the plot. During the proceedings, William Flynn testified that Smart told him she needed her husband killed because she feared she would lose everything if they divorced. Flynn testified that Smart threatened to break up with him if he didn’t kill her husband. Flynn and three other teens who participated in the plot cooperated with prosecutors.

What's New

Judge James Kennedy granted the state's motion to dismiss the petition, saying her arguments already were or could have been raised during earlier appeals, and even if they hadn't, lacked merit. Kennedy noted that Smart had raised claims about misleading transcripts in her appeal 33 years ago. Kennedy agreed with the state’s argument that Smart’s claims were barred because she could have raised them in earlier appeals that were also rejected.

Kennedy ruled that the transcript issue had already been addressed in earlier appeals and that Smart failed to show specific inaccuracies or prejudice. The New Hampshire Supreme Court found 33 years ago that Smart did not show the transcripts were inaccurate. Kennedy wrote that without Smart showing inaccuracies that caused prejudice, she cannot be granted habeas relief. Smart is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, a maximum security prison in Westchester County, New York.