The triggerman in the Pamela Smart murder case has been released from prison.
William Flynn became a free man late Wednesday night around midnight after serving nearly 25 years for shooting Gregg Smart in Derry, New Hampshire, according to the Maine Department of Corrections.
Flynn was 16 years old and known as "Billy" in 1990 when he and three friends participated in what prosecutors said was Pamela Smart's plot to kill her husband. Flynn pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and served his sentence in Maine.
Also released on parole Thursday in New Hampshire is Patrick "Pete" Randall, who restrained Gregg Smart while Flynn shot him in the head. Two other teenagers served prison sentences and have been released.
Pamela Smart, who was 22 when her husband was killed, is serving life in prison without the chance of parole. She admitted seducing Flynn but said she didn't plan her husband's murder.
A recent HBO documentary, "Captivated: The Trials of Pamela Smart," raised doubts about whether Smart's trial, the first to be televised from start to finish, was fair.
The author of “To Die For,” a novel inspired by Smart and the murder trial has asked the governor of New Hampshire to consider parole for the former school media coordinator.
A statment on behalf of Smart from Spokesperson Eleanor Pam says Flynn and Randall only acted remorseful to be awarded parole and that Smart maintains her innocence.
It says, "Does anyone believe that Pamela Smart would rather spend the rest of her life in prison simply because she is prideful and stubborn? Nonsense!"
Joyce Maynard, whose book was later turned into a movie starring Nicole Kidman, sent a letter to Gov. Maggie Hassan saying that she did not intend her work of fiction to shape the public perception of Smart, who's imprisoned at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York.
Hassan's spokesman, William Hinkle, said in a statement that there was no outstanding petition for a pardon or commutation of sentence for Pamela Smart.
“Governor Hassan does not believe jury verdicts should be overturned without clear evidence of a miscarriage of justice, and at this time, the governor has not been presented any new information that would warrant consideration of a pardon even if such a petition existed,” he said.
