Lawyers for Pamela Smart, who is serving a life sentence without parole for the 1990 murder of her husband, Gregory Smart, appeared in Rockingham Superior Court on Monday to request a new trial. Her legal team argued that the original trial was compromised by extensive media coverage and the alleged withholding of information by the prosecution.
The petition centers on claims that the jury was influenced by the high-profile nature of the case, which was one of the first to be televised in its entirety. Defense attorneys also cited newly obtained statements from a witness who alleged that the prosecution pressured her testimony during the 1991 trial.
Prosecutors from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office opposed the motion, stating that Smart's claims had been repeatedly litigated and rejected in previous appeals. They argued that there is no new evidence sufficient to overturn the original conviction. A judge is expected to issue a written ruling on whether the petition for a new trial will proceed.