Prison a 'sentence without hope' for Pam Smart

Since March 22, 1991, prisoner 93GO456 has never seen the view beyond prison walls.

She has never seen hybrid cars or ipods. She has not voted in the last four elections. She has not blown out birthday candles or unwrapped Christmas presents under her family tree in almost 16 years.

She has however seen many aspects of prison life, including sexual assault, violence, harassment and involuntary protective custody.

Pam Smart is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for accomplice of first degree murder of her husband, Greg Smart. She is also serving time for conspiracy to commit murder, and witness tampering.

Pam Smart began her life sentence on March 22, 1991 in the Goffstown Prison for Women in Goffstown, N.H. Two years later she was transferred to Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Bedford, N.Y. on March 11, 1993, for unclear reasons to her family.

Linda Wojas, Pam's mother, still has no idea why her daughter was moved. As soon as her transfer occurred Linda made an appointment with the Department of Corrections Commissioner, Ronald Powell. Powell resigned on June 15, 1993 and left the state to pursue a teaching career. Efforts to contact him were unsuccessful.

Pre-Dawn Shuffle:

"I made an appointment with him [Powell], and when I asked him why he transferred my daughter, he said to me, 'I thought I did you a favor, I could have moved your daughter to Mississippi,'" said Wojas.

State officials have offered varying reasons why Pam was moved. Jeff Strelzin, senior assistant Attorney General's office, said Pam had a poor disciplinary record here in N.H, and that was why she was transferred. "People can be transferred all over the place, it has to do with following the rules…that's what you get when you don't obey," said Strelzin.

According to Jeff Lyons, N.H. Department of Corrections public information officer, Pam Smart received 22 disciplinary reports from 1991 to 1993 while in the Goffstown facility. Of those 22 reports, only two of them were major infractions, while the remaining 20 were minor.

Deputy Compact Administrator Denise Heath offered other reasons for the transfer of Pam Smart. She oversees handling prison transfers as well as maintaining contracts with other states. "I wasn't here at the time of her transfer, but it is my understanding that high publicity was the reason she was transferred," she said.

Heath said that at the time there was concern that someone would break her out. "Goffstown is very small, they felt that the facility was vulnerable," she said.

According to Wojas, she was told that there was no maximum security facility. However, Wojas maintains that the facility was updated to maximum security in the 1980s.

Denise Heath confirmed that the facility can not house maximum security prisoners. "Goffstown can not house maximum security prisoners, they don't have the technology," said Heath. However, according to DOC's own website chronology in 1988 the state used surplus funds to update "appropriate security standards" to Goffstown.

Today there are two convicted murderers housed in the Goffstown facility. Susan E. McLaughlin who began her sentence on May 5, 1989, and Lucille Sanchez who began her sentence on May 8, 2003. Pam Smart entered Goffstown on March 22, 1991. Despite her murder sentence, she remained there for two years, before she was transferred.

According to Heath, New Hampshire has contracts with 28 states, and New York is not one of them. "My understanding is that her transfer was done commissioner to commissioner."

Pam was transferred from Goffstown to Bedford Hills early in the morning without prior notice to her family, said Wojas. "The state took her in shackles at 4:30 in the morning in a vehicle with the windows taped up," said Wojas.

In an exclusive interview Pam Smart recounted the trip and said she was shackled from head to toe. "They had shackles around my wrists, ankles, and they had a belt around my waist. I had to stop to use the bathroom on the ride, and they pulled into a gas station and people were staring at me, I was so embarrassed," said Smart. The Wojas family now makes the weary 260 mile journey as often as they can to see their daughter.

Prison Life:

After the transfer Pam Smart found herself in a maximum security prison located in a quaint little town and living with a prison population of over 800 violent offenders.

She also found that her reputation preceded her, and said she was not well received. "People were told to hate me before I even got here. You don't know what I go through because of who I am," said Smart.

One of those people who hated her before they even met her was Carolyn Nurse, who was serving 10 years for eight counts of armed robbery. "Pam got there before I did, but I had pre-conceived notions from the media about her. I hated her on-sight," said Nurse.

However, Nurse soon changed her feelings on Pamela Smart. "I needed to pass my pre-college math class in order to get into the college program, and I was failing. Someone suggested getting a tutor. When I asked who the best tutor was she said Pamela Smart and I said 'fuck no'. Everyone said she was the best," said Nurse.

Nurse reluctantly met with Pam because Pam wanted to help her. Nurse said Pam would meet with her anytime to help her with her math, and they became great friends from spending so much time together. "I have loved her ever since, she is the most selfless person I have ever met," said Nurse.

Nurse passed that math class and was accepted into the college program. She graduated valedictorian of her class. Part of Nurse's valedictorian duties included giving a speech. When she turned her speech in, there was some debate about mentioning Pam in her speech.