Pamela Smart - Imprisonment

Imprisonment

Smart is incarcerated at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, Westchester County, in New York State, where she is serving a life sentence. She is the only person in New York incarcerated under an interstate compact between New York and New Hampshire. Smart was transferred to Bedford Hills, a maximum security facility, from the New Hampshire State Prison for Women in Goffstown, New Hampshire in 1993. State officials stated that she was transferred because New Hampshire did not have a secure enough facility to house her, the higher security necessary due to the high-profile nature of her case. Although she has not admitted responsibility for her crimes, Smart has conceded that if she had not had an affair with Flynn, Gregg Smart would still be alive. In prison, Smart has spent her time tutoring other inmates and has completed two master's degrees, in literature and legal studies, which were paid for with private funds from Mercy College. Smart became a member of the National Organization for Women, campaigning for rights for women in prison.

In October 1996, Smart was severely beaten by inmates M. Graves and G. Miller, resulting in a metal plate being placed in the left side of her face. The two inmates beat her after accusing her of snitching on them about their prison relationship. Convicted of second-degree assault in an attack at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, the two inmates were transferred to separate prisons. In 2003, after pictures of a scantily clad Smart were published in the National Enquirer; she was placed in solitary confinement. Smart sued, claiming the punishment was unfair treatment, but her lawsuit was dismissed. In 2004, Smart and fellow inmate Carolyn Warmus sued officials of Bedford Hills, claiming sexual harassment, and also sexual assault by a guard, whom they claimed coerced them into posing for the suggestive pictures published in 2003.

Pamela Smart is allowed among other items a radio, a typewriter, and 25 books in her jail cell. In her spare time, she says that she likes to read books and watch television with the other inmates, including Prison Break, which was a popular show among the inmates. The inmates like to prepare food, but Smart claims that she only has one meal a day because she has such a small appetite. Ever since she was severely beaten, she takes medication for chronic pain and sometimes thinks of suicide. Her counselor, Dr. Eleanor Pam, says that "she has many, many, many dark days." Smart says she still keeps track of Flynn because she regards him as being the key to her freedom. "He is one of the few people that could actually get me out of here, by coming forward and telling the truth, but he's never gonna do that," said Smart.

During her sentence, Smart took part in a writer’s workshop, facilitated by playwright Eve Ensler. The workshop and Smart’s writing were exhibited in the 2003 PBS documentary What I Want My Words to Do to You.

Albert Johnson, Smart's attorney from Boston, Massachusetts, is nationally known for his high-profile clients, such as Patty Hearst and F. Lee Bailey. In April 2004, the First U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a 2002 ruling by a federal judge who rejected her federal habeas petition. Previous to her federal appeal, Smart had exhausted all judicial appeals at the state level. In July 2005, the New Hampshire Executive Council unanimously denied a pardon request for "any conditions the governor may seek to impose."

Smart is seeking a financial settlement from the state of New York. The New York attorney general's office is considering a settlement of Smart's 2006 lawsuit that accused prison officials of unfair treatment after the scantily clad photos of her in a jail cell appeared in a 2003 issue of the National Enquirer. According to court documents, Assistant Attorney General Maria Barous Hartofilis asked federal court Judge Robert W. Sweet for a two-month delay while the state considers the settlement offer for Smart that includes legal fees. The offer was made by Smart's attorney Nicholas Brook. In the lawsuit, Smart claims that, after the photos appeared in the tabloid, she was forced to spend two months in a 23-hour-a-day lockdown for filing the complaint. Smart also spends her time pondering the loss of a life outside of prison and still maintains hope of having children. On November 5, 2009, a U.S. District Court Judge countenanced $23,875 to Smart from the state of New York.