LSI Laboratory for Scientific Interrogation, Inc.     |   home
Intro to SCAN   |   SCAN Training   |   Products   |   News Media   |   Reports   |   Contact LSI   |   SCAN en Espanol
Ramsey's T.V. Interview   |   Ramsey's Press Conference   |   Susan Smith's Confession   |   Desiree Washington's Interview on Mike Tyson   |   Clinton, Netanyahu, Arafat, and the Prepositions   |   O.J. Simpson Suicide Letter   |   Michael Jackson's Statement
Analysis of Susan Smith's Confession


The SCAN (Scientific Content Analysis) technique was used to analyze the language used by Susan Smith in her confession.

Contents:
The Statement
The Analysis
Conclusion

Recently there were two cases in which parents killed their children and then reported them "missing": one was in Riviera Beach, Florida, and the other was in Union, South Carolina.

Several students have sent articles from the newspapers in regard to the Florida case. It seems that the investigators from Broward County Sheriff's Office didn't have any difficulty in deciding that the subject was deceptive.

"A couple hours after your little girl is missing, you don't start saying she 'was' a nice girl," Jim Leljedal was quoted as saying. This quotation and others brought several students to write me and comment that they feel that SCAN was used in this case.  In the past, we have had several students from Broward County.  

In the other case, in South Carolina, Susan Smith drowned her two children in the lake and then reported that they were abducted by a stranger who carjacked her car.

From the few quotations mentioned in the newspapers it was quite clear that she was deceptive. "I wouldn't do something like that to my children," she was quoted as saying. If the subject can bring himself/herself to bring the accusation into his own language and still does not deny directly by saying, "I didn't do it," then we cannot say that the subject didn't do it.

When the case first appeared in the newspapers, and it was assumed that the children might still be alive, my daughter asked me what I thought of this case. "I have no doubt that she killed them," was my answer.

One should note! A person can steal, start a fire, rob a bank, rape, kill, and even kill his/her own children, but a person cannot really lie.

A "lie" is defined as saying "I didn't do it" when you did it. This is the only sentence in which the subject contradicts reality 100%, making it a lie.
  
In USA Today of November 23, 1994, we could see the confession Susan Smith wrote.

The following is the confession with the analysis:

THE STATEMENT

When I left my home on Tuesday, Oct. 25, I was very emotionally distraught. I didn't want to live anymore! I felt like things could never get any worse.... I was going to ride around a little while and then go to my mom's.

As I rode and rode and rode, I felt even more anxiety coming upon me about not wanting to live. I felt I couldn't be a good mom anymore, but I didn't want my children to grow up without a mom. I felt I had to end our lives to protect us from any grief or harm.

I had never felt so lonely and so sad in my entire life. I was in love with someone very much, but he didn't love me and never would. I had a very difficult time accepting that. But I had hurt him very much, and I could see why he could never love me.

When I was at John D. Long Lake, I had never felt so scared and unsure as I did then. I wanted to end my life so bad and was in my car ready to go down that ramp into the water, and I did go part way, but I stopped. I went again and stopped. I then got out of the car and stood by the car a nervous wreck.

Why was I feeling this way? Why was everything so bad in my life? I had no answers to these questions. I dropped to the lowest point when I allowed my children to go down the ramp into the water without me.

I took off ... screaming, "Oh God! Oh God, no! What have I done? Why did you let this happen?" I wanted to turn around so bad and go back, but I knew it was too late. I was an absolute mental case! I couldn't believe what I had done.

I love my children with all my (heart). That will never change. I have prayed to them for forgiveness and hope that they will find it in their (heart) to forgive me. I never meant to hurt them!! I am sorry for what has happened and I know that I need some help. I don't think I will ever be able to forgive myself for what I have done.

My children, Michael and Alex, are with our Heavenly Father now, and I know that they will never be hurt again. As a mom, that means more than words could ever say.

I knew from day one, the truth would prevail, but I was so scared I didn't know what to do. It was very tough emotionally to sit and watch my family hurt like they did. It was time to bring a peace of mind to everyone, including myself.

My children deserve to have the best, and now they will. I broke down on Thursday, Nov. 3, and told Sheriff Howard Wells the truth. It wasn't easy, but after the truth was out, I felt like the world was lifted off my shoulders.

I know now that it is going to be a tough and long road ahead of me. At this very moment, I don't feel I will be able to handle what's coming, but I have prayed to God that he give me the strength to survive each day and to face those times and situations in my life that will be extremely painful. I have put my total faith in God, and he will take care of me.
  
THE ANALYSIS

The following are my observations:

1.  The first sentence in a statement is a very important one. It is the point where the subject decided to start the statement.

In many cases, the first sentence might include the reason for the events that follow.

Please note that in the first sentence we find the following:
"When I left my home on Tuesday, Oct. 25..."

It is interesting to notice that many false statements start with "left".

2.  The subject said:

a) "I wanted to end my life so bad and was in my car ready to go down that ramp into the water..."

b) "I then got out of the car and stood by the car a nervous wreck."

Please notice the change in pronouns from "my car" to "the car".

Usually, the use of "the car" when it should be "my car" is an indication of possible deception in the statement.

3.  The subject said: "I dropped to the lowest point when I allowed my children to go down the ramp into the water without me. I took off ... screaming, 'Oh God! Oh God, no! What have I done? Why did you let this happen?'" The emotions are located exactly at the "perfect" place, at the peak of the statement, as dictated by logic. Since the emotions are located by logic it is a strong indicator of deception.

4.  The subject used the pronoun "we"/"our" in only one sentence:

"I felt I had to end our lives to protect us from any grief or harm."

Please notice the following:

a.  During the ride "around a little while" with the intent to go later to her mom, the subject didn't use the pronoun "we", even though the children were with her in the car.

b.  The only time the subject used the "we" (=togetherness) is at the time she decided to end their lives.

5.  The subject said:

a)  "...but I didn't want my children to grow up without a mom."

b)  "I dropped to the lowest point when I allowed my children to go down the ramp into the water without me."

c)  "I love my children with all my (heart)."

d)  "My children, Michael and Alex, are with our Heavenly Father now..."

e)  "My children deserve to have the best, and now they will."

Due to the fact that the pace of speech (and definitely the pace of writing) is slower than the pace of thinking, there is a natural tendency to shorten the speech.

This is to say that in general it is expected that people would introduce others into the statement going from the long introduction - as in (d) - and continuing to a shorter introduction - as in (a), (b), (c), and (e).

Therefore, when someone goes from a short introduction a longer one, as we see in this case, it should indicate a bad relationship.

One should note that the longer (formal) introduction was used in the context of the children being "with our Heavenly Father" = being dead.

6.  The subject said:

a) "I love my children with all my (heart)."

b) "I have prayed to them for forgiveness and hope that they will find it in their (heart) to forgive me."

Please notice that in both places the word "heart" is placed in parentheses, indicating that it might have been added by the newspaper in order to make the sentence readable. However, it is quite likely that the subject didn't say it.

"If the subject didn't mention something, then that something didn't happen." This is to say that if the subject didn't say that she loves them with all her heart, then we cannot say that she loves them.

7.  The subject said:

a)  "I had never felt so lonely and so sad in my entire life."

b)  "I had never felt so scared and unsure as I did then."

c)  "I never meant to hurt them!!"

"Never" is not as strong as "didn't". This is to say that the subject's denials in these three points are weak denials.

In regard to the subject's denials in (a) and (b) one should note that The Columbia State reported on November 26, 1994, that Susan Smith told a high school guidance counselor in 1988 that she had been molested by her stepfather of 10 years, Beverly Russell.

Also, Court documents said that Mrs. Smith had tried to kill herself by overdosing on aspirin twice while a teen-ager. Her biological father committed suicide when she was 6 years old.

This information, verifying the weakness of the denials in (a) and (b), should bring us to suspect that the subject meant to hurt her own children.
  
Conclusion:

There are indications (points 1-3) in the subject's language that deception is present in the statement. There are also indications (points 5-7) that the subject had a bad relationship with her children. Even though the subject wanted to present a picture that she was just pressured by a boyfriend, still there is an indication that she intentionally wanted to harm her own children.