Pamela Smart, convicted in 1991 of orchestrating her husband's murder, appeared virtually in court on Monday to argue for a new trial. Her legal team contends that prosecutors presented the jury with inaccurate transcripts of secretly recorded conversations, potentially influencing their verdict.
During the hearing before Merrimack County Superior Court Judge James Kennedy, Smart's attorneys argued that the jury was misled by transcripts that included words, such as "killed" and "murder," which were not clearly audible on the recordings. They presented a forensic study suggesting that providing accompanying text to muffled audio can lead listeners to believe the written words are present even if they are not.
"Adding a transcript of language to the jurors changed their interpretation of what they believed they were hearing, how confident they were in what they believed they were hearing and how clear it was to them," said Pamela Smart's lawyer, Matthew Zernhelt. "There's no absolute truth about what's on the tapes. Nothing decipherable is on the tapes. But when you tell someone what they're hearing, you set this expectation ... and they will hear it."
Smart, 58, is serving a life sentence without parole for her role in the 1990 death of her husband, Gregg Smart. He was shot and killed by her 15-year-old lover, William "Billy" Flynn, whom she had recruited. Flynn was released on parole in June 2015 after serving nearly 25 years for the murder.
In addition to the audio transcript claims, Smart's lawyers also argued that the verdict was tainted by extensive media coverage and faulty jury instructions. They contend that jurors were told they had to find premeditation and were not solely instructed to consider evidence presented during the trial. Furthermore, they asserted that New Hampshire law did not mandate a life sentence without parole for an accomplice to first-degree murder.
The state's attorneys have requested that the petition be dismissed, arguing that Smart's claims have either already been raised or could have been addressed on appeal by the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
Judge Kennedy stated he would take the matter under advisement and issue a ruling within 30 to 60 days. This is not the first time Smart has sought to have her sentence reduced, but previous attempts have been unsuccessful.
In June 2024, Smart released a video in which she confessed to her involvement in her husband's murder, stating that she had spent years deflecting blame as a coping mechanism. She and Gregg Smart were married for less than a year before his death. Despite her conviction in New Hampshire, she is incarcerated at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in New York for undisclosed security reasons.
