In 2014, an HBO documentary called – CAPTIVATED The Trials of Pamela Smart – was presented at several Film festivals where it received rave reviews.
The film examined the media circus that the trial of this young woman became in 1991, in a small town of New England. It was the first gavel to gavel televised trial in the US and Smart happened to be the perfect high profile prototype: an attractive young lady at the center of a saga involving sex, video and murder.
We could say that the ideal formula for litigation TV was born and it was cause for celebration for the media who took out the cigars to welcome the birth of this very lucrative practice.
It was the most covered trial in NH history and came right after the Persian Gulf War was winding down on CNN and people were hungry for more sensationalized programming. This scenario featured teenager William Flynn’s tearful account, it had an attractive and unemotional attractive young widow and some taped conversations you could hardly decipher, which should have not been allowed at trial. It also had parents pretty mad at presiding Judge Gray for allowing the trial to become such a media sensation.
Captivated attempts to take a look through the lens of impartiality at what really happened in the case of Greg Smart who was murdered by 16-year-old Bill Flynn and his 3 conspirators after he engaged in a sexual affair with his wife Pamela Smart.
The media and public at large kept referring to Pamela as a teacher who had an affair with her pupil, but it was never the case.
At the time, she was a media administrator at the SAU media center. They never talked about the fact that innocent little Billy was also having an affair with another woman in her 20s, and was called Bill by everyone.
They renamed him Billy in the media and said that he was 15 at the time to make him sound like a juvenile even if their relationship was not illegal. His criminal background was not presented at trial because of his age.
The movie director, Jeremiah Zagar, said about the case and Pamela Smart, ‘’It’s a trope’’. ‘’She fits into that trope. She is that Lady Macbeth, she is that Eve to that Adam.’’
Click here for Mayhem Media interview with Zagar
“Ultimately, it’s about an intimate moment between a young woman and a young man, and we weren’t present at that moment,” he said. But, he believes he could show in his film that “there was a trial that seemed incredibly unfair, and incredibly influenced by the media.”
Zagar made the movie artificial-looking to remind viewers that he’s just a small part of the “storytelling apparatus.’’ He tried to illustrate how he cannot prove Smart’s guilt or innocence, but he can prove she received an unfair trial because of the media attention.
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- She received a harsher sentence than the teenagers who admitted to actually murdering her husband and unlike them, she is not eligible for parole.
- Pamela Smart was found guilty because of a compelling narrative supported by images in the media.
- The media made a narrative about the narrative from a stolen image of Pamela Smart
- According to media and its viewers, Smart did not shy away from media attention, but they didn’t either.
- The novelist who wrote the book version of the movie To Die For confuses Pamela Smart with her main character. Nicole Kidman plays the role of Pamela in the film without having studied her or even met her.
- According to Pamela’s friends and family, the TV movie was also fiction. She was a hard working nerd and not a femme fatale. Helen Hunt simply played her character according to an image produced by media.
- The photos of Pamela in a bikini were shot by a girlfriend and she had to be coaxed into taking them for a modeling contest. They were never meant to entice the teenager.
- The teenagers were housed in the same prison pod so could have easily concocted their story to get a deal. The only one who was housed in a different cell block told a different tale, and to this day, is told in no uncertain terms by authorities not to talk about the case. They were caught laughing and high- fiving after testimony. When first caught, they denied her involvement.
- One of the jurors who recorded her thoughts every night (sic) thought Flynn’s testimony was disingenuous. By the way, she tried to sell the tapes to Smart’s attorney for $25,000.
- Cecilia Pierce who was wiretapped to entrap Smart signed a $100,000 option for the screen rights to her story. What was omitted from the narrative of the case is that Smart’s attorney had warned her of the fact that Cecilia would tape her and she willingly and stupidly talked to her to get her to spill some information.
- And to add insult to conspiracy, Pierce’s uncle was mysteriously released from prison after she accomplished this task. The tapes should have never been admitted as evidence. You could not hear properly what they said or at least, hear the words in context.
- Click here to read about the tapes and Smart’s state of mind at the time.
The image of Pamela Smart was created by the media and basically became a successful patent. It was an identity theft that ended up costing Smart a lot more than if she had been unknown. Without the wide coverage of her case, she probably would have received a lighter sentence and might even have been exonerated. We will never know.
Pamela Smart now
That media persona followed her in prison where she was attacked by two inmates who believed she had snitched on their prison relationship, and she ended up with a fractured eye socket and other injuries that caused permanent damage.
The eye socket damage left her with no sensation on that side of her face and plastic surgery required installing a metal plate because of the horrible beating .
One guard took semi-nude photos of her that he sold to Playboy and she claimed to have been raped. I doubt anyone would have paid so much attention to her, if not from the publicity surrounding her case.
Smart received over $23,000 compensation for the nude photos and a huge chunk of it went to her attorney. She was well-respected in prison where she tutored other inmates. She has earned a Master’s Degree in the Science of Law and a Master’s of Arts while incarcerated.
She is now helping inmates who are struggling to cope with prison life.
The real Pamela Smart has emerged and has been exemplary so why wouldn’t she be allowed the possibility of parole? She was a young woman at the time and she didn’t pull the trigger. She is still hoping for a reconsideration of her sentence and the high-profile nature of her trial renders it impossible.
Her only infractions are minimal and sadly, prisons are known to give inmates bad ratings for menial things like rolled sleeves, having a non serrated plastic cake knife or other insignificant details to beef up their file.
Bill Flynn
Bill Flynn, who allegedly committed the murder is part of a work-release program and will be paroled in 2015.
His co-conspirator Patrick Randall was paroled in 2005, Vance Lattime will be eligible for release as early as June 2015 and Raymond Fowler was paroled in 2003, but sent back to prison in 2004 for violating his parole terms. He was paroled again in June 2005.
From all accounts, Pamela Smart was very responsible at work, but her level of emotional maturity was meager. The fact that her husband had been unfaithful may have triggered the affair with Bill Flynn who was showering her with the attention she craved.
After the murder of her husband, she was prescribed a very high dose of Prozac and looked and sounded like a skinny, hyper girl not really in control.
She should also get a chance, but her notoriety and the fact that she claims her innocence will keep her from being paroled. I don’t know if she was innocent or guilty, but her trial by media was totally unfair. The means do not always justify the ends. Click here to listen to a very informative podcast interview with Pamela’s mother.
Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart (2014)
“A superb example of the form” – Anthony Kaufman, SundanceNow
“A fascinating and haunting meditation on America’s flawed justice system” – VICE
Check Pamela Smart’s website
That resources are being spent keeping this person in prison beggars belief. She has served time, she wont reoffend, the actual killers are free and the travesty of her trial is something that we cant undo. But we can learn from it. Its cruel to keep her locked up. Serves no purpose other than demonstrate the injustice of her treatment. The world watches and is horrified. Im in australia and thousands of miles away but know this sister deserves t be free. I will never meet her, dont know her from a bar of soap but will not be silenced. Enough is enough.
Well, time to let her out, even though I think she was implicated. The reason I think that is, I just cannot reconcile anyone saying to anyone else that they were involved, when they were not. Pam’s explanation that she was trying to worm info out of the girl who was wired for sound just does not ring true with me at all. I know she was only 22 at the time, but she is highly intelligent, and she was not less so then, only less formally educated. High intelligence does not preclude guilt, not at all. She reminds me a little of Ronnie Biggs wife who had full knowledge of his guilt, came to Australia after the Great Train Robbery, with the full intention of making a new home here with him. Charmaine is a highly intelligent woman so he got herself a damn good education and I think she lectures at Uni now. English Lit, from memory. I’ll check.
I agree. Time to let her out. The three boys who participated and shot her husband were all released. I know that Pamela was her worst enemy when she talked to the media and decided to talk to her friend after her attorney had warned her that she was wired. The problem with the tapes is that most of it is inaudible and the transcripts they submitted were full of mistakes. You could hardly hear what was said on it so they should have been thrown out. How convenient for the prosecution to pick and choose.
The boys all said she was not involved at first, but were put in the same pod in prison and had plenty of time to adjust their stories. Do not forget that they threatened them with life sentences if they did not turn on Pamela. She was their way out of prison. They were seen high-fiving each other and Bill talked about rehearsing his tears. In reality, he was not the naive and innocent guy they thought he was. He had an affair with another older woman and the other two were young criminals. They did steal from homes and were psyched about the killing.
The only boy who was not lodged with the others did not turn on her and feels really bad for her, but was threatened by cops not to open his mouth about it.
I posted a podcast with her mother on the blog and it is quite interesting. The media never promotes the right story.
I don’t see her as a mastermind. She was assessed as less mature than they were and on high doses of antidepressant that made her speak like she was the energizer bunny on crack. The media played a huge role into turning her into a Lolita. She was not. We will never know what really happened. The girl who sold the rights to her story for a hefty price is totally unreliable and was in Pamela’s home where she could have easily unlocked the back door for the boys to come in and steal. Many scenarios are possible and if Pam was part of it, she has paid her dues, was beaten in prison and got herself and education.
Never heard of Ronnie Biggs’ wife Charmian. Will have to check that story.
Whoops! Charmaine died in 2014, aged 75. I am behind the times. Poor girl had a tragic life. Her son was killed in a car accident, just after her arrival in Australia, while Ronnie was in Brazil hiding out; and I wonder if it really was an accident. They thought he might come home to his wife and family for the funeral. They were wrong.
Charmian, not Charmaine. Sorry. She was driving the car, BTW when her 10 year old son was killed.
Yeah, I heard a tape, and it sure made her sound guilty. Tapes are open to interpretation by the listener. As you say though, she is not the brightest biscuit in the pack when it comes to personal conduct. One of those clever idiots, by the sound of it. The prison sentences are far too long and totally out of kelter with the crimes committed in the USA. The system needs a huge overhaul.
The excerpts from the tapes that were played in court sure made her look bad. The problem is that there were a lot of other parts where she denies everything. At times, it is impossible to know who said what. Considering that she knew that she was taped, it would make some sense that she was trying to go along to get some information. Anyway, they should not have been admitted and she should have been released by now. Yes, it was not smart at all to give interviews and talk to Cecilia against the advice of her attorney. She really stepped in it and to a certain extent, she is responsible for what happened to her. But the verdict was uncalled for. Some of the jurors were crying because none of them realized she would be given life without parole. The US system is a death trap.
Terrific post but I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this subject?
I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more.
Kudos!
If you click on the interview with Pamela’s mother or on her website, you will discover many unknown details about the case. I also recommend watching the documentary.