Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother convicted of killing her two young sons in 1994, was denied parole after pleading for her release during a parole hearing on Wednesday.

A parole board decided unanimously Wednesday that Smith, 53, should remain in prison 30 years after she killed her sons, Alex and Michael, by rolling her car into a South Carolina lake while they were strapped in their car seats. Smith made her case for freedom by video link from prison.

When she began to speak, she started to say she was very sorry, then broke down in tears and bowed her head, the Associated Press reported. I know what I did was horrible, Smith said, pausing and then continuing with a wavering voice. And I would give anything so I could change it.

The parole board asked Smith about the law enforcement resources used to try to locate her children. In reply, she told the board she was just scared and didnt know how to tell them.

Im sorry, I dont know, I know thats not enough; I know its not, Smith said. In her final statements, Smith appealed to her Christian faith, saying, God is a big part of my life. God has forgiven her, Smith said, and she asked the same of the board.

A large group of about 15 people entered the room to urge against parole. They included her ex-husband and the father of the boys, David Smith; his family members; prosecutors; and law enforcement officials.

Smith struggled to get out words at first, taking several pauses throughout his statement to compose himself. He said Susan Smith had free choice, and his childrens deaths werent a tragic mistake.

Its just not enough, Smith said through tears. So Im asking that you please, deny her parole today, and hopefully in the future, but specifically today. He told the board that he plans to attend each parole hearing in the future to make sure Michael and Alex arent forgotten.

Smith continued to deflect responsibility for her actions. She partly blamed her recent conviction for attempting to profit off her notoriety from prison on a documentary filmmaker she had been corresponding with. Smith also denied fault for previous misconduct charges while incarcerated, claiming they were beyond her control. She told the board that she had lost touch with reality when she killed her sons.

It was the first parole hearing for Smith who is serving a life sentence after a jury convicted her of murder but decided not to sentence her to death. Under state law at the time, she is eligible for a parole hearing every two years now that she has spent 30 years behind bars.

Smith’s case made headlines in the world after she claimed she was carjacked in 1994 near the city of Union, South Carolina with her two sons still in the back seat. Smith, who is white, said the carjacker was Black. Over the course of nine days Smith made desperate and tearful pleas for her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, to be returned safely.

But the whole time, the boys and Smiths car were at the bottom of nearby John D. Long Lake, authorities said. She narrowly avoided the death penalty and instead was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Investigators soon realized Smiths story did not add up due to the idea that carjackers usually just want the car and wouldnt be interested in taking her two children. They also questioned why the apparent carjackers let Smith out of the car but not her two children.

The traffic light where Smith said she had stopped when her car was taken would only be red if another car was waiting to cross and Smith said no other cars were around. And other bits and pieces of the story did not make sense.

This all led to Smith confessing to letting her car roll down a boat ramp into the lake with her two sons still strapped in the backseat. A recreation of the crime done by investigators showed that it took six minutes for the car to submerge below the waters surface. The boys bodies were found dangling upside-down in their car seats, one tiny hand pressed against a window.

Prosecutors said that Smith was having an affair with the son of a wealthy business owner of a business she worked at.

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