Judge Weighs Pamela Smart's New Trial Bid in 1991 Murder Case Over Disputed Transcripts
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 25
Judge Weighs Pamela Smart's New Trial Bid in 1991 Murder Case Over Disputed Transcripts
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 25
Summary
James Kennedy heard arguments on Pamela Smart’s habeas petition and said he expects a written ruling within 30 to 60 days on whether her latest push for a new trial can proceed.
Smart, 58, argues jurors in her 1991 murder trial were misled by transcripts of secretly recorded conversations that inserted disputed words such as “killed,” “busted” and “murder,” steering them toward conviction.
Her lawyer cited newer forensic research on how written scripts shape what listeners think they hear and pointed to a juror’s daily recordings as evidence the transcripts influenced deliberations.
New Hampshire prosecutors urged dismissal, saying appellate courts already addressed the transcript issue, jurors were told the recordings controlled over transcripts, and Smart’s current claims were not specifically raised at trial.
Smart has spent more than three decades challenging her life-without-parole conviction for Gregory Smart’s 1990 killing; her teenage lover admitted the shooting, and clemency was denied again last year.