Image Source: YouTube user Netflix
Discrepancies within the prison justice system are on full show in Netflix’s true-crime documentary “State of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith,” which examines the elements surrounding Brittany Smith’s 2020 trial for the homicide of Todd Smith.
Brittany garnered nationwide consideration when she was charged with fatally capturing Todd in January 2018 however claimed that she did so in self-defense. After relentlessly combating for a Stand Your Ground listening to, which might grant her immunity if she may show that she believed she was in imminent hazard when she pulled the set off, she misplaced. If convicted, Brittany would’ve confronted as much as 25 years in jail for her crime, however that wasn’t the top of her story.
Here are the true particulars behind “State of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith.”
Who Is Brittany Smith?
In the start of the brand new yr in 2018, Brittany lived in a four-bedroom home in Stevenson, AL. At the time, she was recovering from substance use dysfunction and was working towards getting custody of her 4 youngsters once more, as reported by The New Yorker. In January 2018, she received a pet named Athena from an acquaintance, Todd. In each means, her life was trying upward, however a collection of harrowing occasions would change the course of her life as she knew it.
The Death of Todd Smith
One day after getting her pet from Todd, he known as her asking to be picked up from the native park. Brittany had her reservations, however because the snowy climate was intense on the time, she went together with her brother, Chris McCallie, to get him. McCallie dropped off the 2 at Brittany’s home not lengthy after, and in keeping with Brittany, she and Todd made small dialog about their mutual struggles with habit, which quickly took a flip for the more serious. According to Brittany, when discussing her highway to restoration, she instructed Todd to “get his priorities collectively,” as she had been in a position to safe a brand new job and have the potential of getting her youngsters again, per The New Yorker. She says he took offense to this and assumed Brittany was being condescending, which despatched him right into a rage. According to Brittany, he cursed at her, head-butted her, and chased her into her bed room, the place he strangled her unconscious and sexually assaulted her repeatedly.
After the alleged assault, Brittany says, Todd threatened to kill her and her household if she instructed anybody about what occurred. She says he then requested cigarettes, and a terrified Brittany known as her mom, Ramona, in hopes of getting a journey to the native comfort retailer. Ramona despatched McCallie over to get the 2 as an alternative, and so they went to get the cigarettes. At the shop, Brittany was utterly matted: her hair was tangled, a few of her fingernails have been gone, and she or he had seen markings on her physique. She left a word with the shop’s employee naming Todd because the individual chargeable for attacking her however pleaded with them to not name the police in worry of potential repercussions.
When McCallie dropped the 2 again off once more, Brittany instructed him to speak to the shop employee she left the word with. He did and instantly returned to her home with a gun, ordering Todd to go away. When Todd refused, they received right into a scuffle, and Todd put McCallie in a headlock in an try to choke him. Brittany yelled for Todd to cease, however he would not let up, so she fired a shot from McCallie’s gun. The scuffle continued, and she or he shot twice extra, this time placing Todd. As she was on the telephone with a 911 operator, she carried out CPR on Todd, however by the point police arrived, he was lifeless.
The Road to Trial
As authorities have been investigating the scene, a rape package was executed, and the report confirmed 33 wounds on Brittany’s physique, which included “bruises on her neck, breasts, arms, legs, and pelvis, chunk marks on her neck and chin,” together with proof of strangulation and secretions on and inside her physique, in keeping with The New Yorker. When questioned by the police, Brittany initially instructed them that it was McCallie, not her, who’d killed Todd, in worry that her story and cause for killing him wouldn’t be taken significantly. The following day, nonetheless, she confessed to the killing, was arrested, and was held on the Jackson County Jail on a $100,00 bond, in keeping with The Appeal.
While she was in jail and ready to submit bond, Brittany struggled together with her psychological well being. She was recognized with nervousness and prescribed Xanax, which she was not given whereas in jail, and had a nervous breakdown in consequence. In April 2018, Ramona was in a position to submit her bail with the assistance of two individuals who used their houses as collateral. Brittany’s launch instantly sparked rumors round city, which ranged from her having a romantic relationship with Todd to the entire thing being a drug deal gone fallacious. She was agency in clearing her identify, nonetheless, and sought to have a Stand Your Ground listening to to show she was performing in self-defense when she killed Todd.
The highway to her listening to was not straightforward. Per the request of her state-appointed lawyer, James Mick, Brittany was psychologically evaluated by a state psychologist to find out her frame of mind when she killed Todd and her competency to face a correct trial. The objective was to show that her psychological state was considerably impaired and thus safe a plea of not responsible by cause of madness, which she strongly disagreed with. The analysis decided she was not competent to face trial and she or he was sentenced to remain at Bryce Hospital, a psychological hospital, for 90 days.
In December 2019, she lastly had her Stand Your Ground listening to scheduled for January 2020, and after it was heard by Jackson County Circuit Judge Jenifer Holt, she misplaced. Her prison trial was scheduled for November 2020, however because it approached, Brittany pleaded responsible to Todd’s homicide in trade for a 20-year sentence only a month prior in October 2020, as reported by Alabama.com.
Where Is Brittany Smith Today?
Despite initially being sentenced to serve 20 years in jail, Brittany served 18 months in jail and was launched in May 2021. Upon her launch, she was additionally ordered to serve an extra 18 months of home arrest. Following her home arrest, Brittany will likely be on supervised probation for 5 years as properly.
Today, she is targeted on shedding mild on her story and reforming the prison justice system so others, particularly victims of abuse, wouldn’t have to endure the identical trauma. “After the tough waters, clean crusing,” she instructed Alabama.com
See the harrowing story of Brittany in Netflix’s “State of Alabama vs. Brittany Smith,” streaming now on Netflix.
