COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina parole board has unanimously voted to deny parole for convicted killer, Susan Smith.

Wednesday marked Smith’s first parole hearing following her 1995 conviction and sentence of life in prison for murdering her two young sons.

On Oct. 25, 1994, 23-year-old Susan Smith murdered her two young boys, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, by rolling her car into John D. Long Lake while they were strapped inside.

Smith’s defense first testified before the board, saying she planned to die by suicide with her children, but exited the vehicle at the last second. They also focused on the abuse Susan endured throughout her childhood. Her stepfather went on to testify that he sexually abused her for years.

“I know what I did was horrible,” Susan Smith pleaded to the board for her release. “And I would give anything so I could change it.”

Following Susan's tearful testimony, David Smith, the boys’ father and Susan Smith’s former husband, also testified, "She came pretty close to causing me to end my life because of the grief that she brought upon me."

Tommy Pope, the prosecutor in the 1995 trial, also asked the board to deny parole. "If she could have put David in the car, he would've been there, too," Pope said. 

Under state law, Smith is eligible for a parole hearing every two years now that she has served one-third of her life sentence (30 years).

“And I will be here every two years going forward, to ensure that their deaths doesn’t go in vain," said David Smith.