Convicted child killer Susan Smith wants to remarry and help other young mothers who suffer from mental illness if she ever is paroled, her spokeswoman says.

Smith “really looks forward to getting out” when she is eligible for parole in 2024, said the Rev. Toni White, a United Methodist minister who has counseled Smith the past 10 years.

“That’s the hope that keeps her going,” said White, of Columbia.

Smith, now 33, would be about 53 if she is paroled on her first try. White said Smith is “fearful” her ex-husband, David Smith, and his family “will keep her in.”

David Smith and Tommy Pope, who prosecuted Susan Smith, said in recent interviews they would oppose her parole. Said David Smith, “Susan does not deserve to be free ever again.”

Smith was convicted of murdering her sons Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months, on Oct. 25, 1994, by drowning them in her car in a Union County lake. She is serving a life sentence at Leath Correctional Institution, a state women’s prison in Greenwood.

S.C. Department of Corrections director Jon Ozmint rejected two requests by The State newspaper to interview Smith, citing a longstanding policy of not allowing in-person interviews with inmates. Gov. Mark Sanford’s office also declined the request, saying the decision rested with Ozmint.

The State also wrote Smith this month asking for her comments. It was not clear if she received the letter; in a written response, Catherine Kendall, the Leath warden, said agency policy “requires the Department of Corrections to scan/read the inmate’s mail to ensure protection, safety and security of the general public, employees and inmates.”

“Due to Inmate Smith’s crime of notoriety, this agency must be very alert to all of Inmate Smith’s incoming mail,” Kendall said in the response.

White said she has been authorized by Smith and her mother, Linda Russell, to speak to the media. Russell declined comment recently.

White, who testified on Smith’s behalf at her 1995 trial, said Smith is very aware of the 10-year anniversary of the death of her children and had discussed it with her this month.

“There is not a day that goes by that she doesn’t think about them and grieve for them,” she said.

Smith imagines, for example, that Michael would be playing baseball now and she would attend his games, White said.

The 58-year-old White said she first met with Smith in December 1994 at the request of her defense team, who felt she needed a “woman minister.” She said she initially saw Smith every week in Columbia, but now usually sees her monthly.

Smith spends much of her time reading and writing letters, and reading religious and historical novels, White said. She added a lot of men “write her and say they’re in love with her.”

Her mother visits often, and she rotates her visitation list regularly to accommodate friends and other relatives, White said.

Smith made headlines last year when she posted an advertisement on a Florida-based Web site seeking pen pals. The ad was pulled after the site was overwhelmed with thousands of hits.

Smith was moved from the women’s prison in Columbia to the Greenwood prison in 2000 and was banned from having visitors for a year after two prison officers were accused of having sex with her. White said the officers took advantage of Smith, whom she said was then “one of the emotionally neediest persons I have met.”

Prison disciplinary records show Smith has been cited for six offenses since 1997, four of which were listed as “major,” including the two sexual misconduct violations and possession of contraband. Her last violation, which occurred in 2001, was listed as minor; the offense was described only as being “out of place.”

White said Smith is tutoring prisoners seeking their GEDs and is taking an introductory college psychology course by mail.

Smith, according to trial testimony, has suffered from depression since childhood, often thought about suicide, and once landed in a Spartanburg hospital after an overdose. Her father, Harry Vaughan, committed suicide when she was 6. According to testimony, her stepfather, Beverly Russell, had a sexual relationship with her that began when she was about 16 and continued until just months before Michael and Alex died.

Prosecutors contended Smith, who had filed for divorce about a month before her sons’ death, likely killed the boys to be with a textile plant co-worker she had been dating.

Smith’s lawyers have always disputed the state’s theory, contending Smith was suicidal.

White said Smith believes that the death of her sons could have been prevented had she received counseling and medication. She receives medication for depression, White said.

If paroled, Smith wants to counsel other young mothers suffering from depression or other mental illness.

“That’s what she wants to say: ‘It could happen to your family. I was a good mother. I loved my children. But I snapped. If you need help, get help,’” White said.

Smith “very much” would like to remarry, White said, but “doesn’t see having children as a real possibility.”

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484 or rbrundrett@thestate.com.