Pamela Smart seeks to overturn conviction

Lawyers for Pamela Smart filed habeas corpus petitions in New York and New Hampshire seeking to overturn her conviction in her husband’s 1990 death; state officials say her trial was fair and the convictions were upheld on appeal. Undetermined at this time.

Pamela Smart has filed petitions asking courts to overturn her 1991 conviction in the death of her husband. Her legal team says the trial involved constitutional errors, including disputed transcript evidence, jury instructions and broad media coverage. The petitions were filed in New York, where she is imprisoned, and in New Hampshire, where the case was tried. State officials have said the convictions were lawfully obtained and previously upheld on appeal. Key points: - Habeas corpus petitions were filed in New York and New Hampshire requesting review of Smart’s conviction and sentence. - Lawyers allege prosecutors presented inaccurate transcripts of recorded conversations, that jury instructions were flawed, and that media attention affected the trial environment. - The state’s statement says Smart received a fair trial and that convictions were upheld on appeal; a request for a sentence-reduction hearing was rejected by the governor seven months earlier. Summary: The filings ask courts to consider whether alleged constitutional errors affected the verdict and the mandatory life sentence she received. Undetermined at this time.