#DC-0072
Pamela Smart
Appeal
last updated 20 July 2026 · 4 sources
Confirmed facts
9
Open questions
3
Latest hearing
20 Jul 2026
Current stage
Appeal
This case is still developing. Get an email when the file updates.
Timeline of what's confirmed9 entries
1 May 1990
Gregory Smart, 24, was found shot to death in the couple's condominium in Derry, New Hampshire.
The Washington Post, 23 March 1991
22 March 1991
A jury found Pamela Smart guilty of accomplice to murder, conspiracy to commit murder and witness tampering, and Judge Douglas Gray sentenced her to life without parole on the accomplice charge.
The Washington Post, 23 March 1991
11 June 2024
A videotaped statement was released in which Smart accepted full responsibility for Gregory Smart's death for the first time as part of a sentence-reduction request.
AP, 11 June 2024
January 2026
Smart's lawyers filed a habeas corpus petition in New York and New Hampshire seeking to overturn her conviction over claimed constitutional violations.
AP, 6 January 2026
20 July 2026
Smart, 58, attended a Concord, New Hampshire, hearing remotely from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in New York.
AP, 20 July 2026
20 July 2026
Smart's lawyers urged a New Hampshire judge to allow her latest petition for a new trial to move forward.
AP, 20 July 2026
20 July 2026
Smart's lawyers argued that prosecutors misled the jury by providing transcripts of recorded conversations that included words the lawyers say were not audible on the recordings.
AP, 20 July 2026
20 July 2026
Smart's lawyers also argued that the verdict was tainted by media attention, faulty jury instructions and a mandatory life-without-parole sentence they say New Hampshire law did not require for the charge.
AP, 20 July 2026
20 July 2026
Lawyers for the state asked the judge to dismiss the petition, saying nearly all claims are barred because they were resolved on appeal or could have been raised earlier; the judge took the matter under advisement and planned to rule in 30 to 60 days.
AP, 20 July 2026
Open questionsunconfirmed · not conclusions
Will the judge dismiss the habeas petition or allow it to move forward?unconfirmed; AP reported the judge took the matter under advisement · unconfirmed
What exact date will the judge issue a ruling?unconfirmed; AP reported only a planned 30-to-60-day window · unconfirmed
If the petition proceeds, which claims will the court reach on the merits?unconfirmed; no ruling reported yet · unconfirmed
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