Pamela Smart's Appeal for a New Trial Denied by Judge

WHO:

ABC News - Pamela Smart, 59, a high school media coordinator; Gregory Smart, her husband; William Flynn, the 15-year-old boy who fatally shot Gregory Smart; Merrimack County Superior Court Judge James Kennedy.

WHAT:

ABC News - A New Hampshire judge dismissed Pamela Smart's latest petition for a new trial.

ABC News - Smart is serving life in prison for orchestrating the murder of her husband.

ABC News - Smart was convicted in 1991 of being an accomplice to first-degree murder and other crimes.

ABC News - The shooter, William Flynn, was freed in 2015 after serving a 25-year sentence.

ABC News - Smart's lawyers filed a petition for habeas corpus relief in January.

ABC News - Judge Kennedy granted the state's motion to dismiss the petition, stating her arguments lacked merit.

ABC News - Smart's lawyers claimed prosecutors misled the jury with inaccurate transcripts of recorded conversations.

ABC News - The judge described the legal relevancy of a forensic study cited by Smart's lawyers as “dubious.”

WHERE:

ABC News - The events took place in Derry, New Hampshire.

WHEN:

ABC News - Smart began her affair with Flynn when she was 22 years old in 1990.

ABC News - Smart's trial was one of the first in the nation to be broadcast live on television from start to finish.

ABC News - Smart did not take responsibility for her husband’s death until 2024.

WHY:

ABC News - Smart claimed she feared losing everything if she divorced her husband, which motivated her to orchestrate the murder.

HOW:

ABC News - Smart allegedly told Flynn she needed her husband killed and threatened to break up with him if he didn’t comply.

(UPDATED September 17, 2026 23:58 UTC)

A New Hampshire judge has dismissed Pamela Smart's latest petition for a new trial, stating that her arguments lacked merit. Smart is currently serving a life sentence for orchestrating the murder of her husband, Gregory Smart, with the shooter, William Flynn, having been released in 2015 after serving a 25-year sentence. Judge James Kennedy noted that the legal relevancy of a forensic study cited by Smart's lawyers was considered “dubious,” while her team claimed prosecutors misled the jury with inaccurate transcripts of recorded conversations.