only if first granted a commutation by the
governor. She is only the third such inmate to be granted clemency since
1989.

In 1994 and 2003, boards recommended clemency for Smithey only to
have first Gov. Fife Symington and then Gov. Janet Napolitano deny it.

Last spring, not long after the board unanimously recommended
clemency for Smithey, Brewer replaced three of its five members; on
Monday, the new members in particular sought reassurance that Smithey
doesn't pose any danger of violence. Much of their questioning of
Smithey, her attorneys and supporters and psychiatrist Elizabeth
Kohlhepp focused on Smithey's youthful mental state, whether the board
could be sure she'd changed, and whether she could handle the stress of
returning to the outside world after five decades.

As the deciding vote came down in her favor, Smithey crossed herself
and looked down briefly asif in disbelief that the moment had finally
arrived.

Smithey endured a horrific childhood of abandonment, abuse and
mistreatment by foster and adoptive parents, creating, Kohlhepp said, a
fragile youth with poor coping skills who became psychotic under extreme
stress.

In her early years in prison she was rebellious and troublesome,
escaping four times from three different prisons between 1974 and 1981.

But Kohlhepp, who evaluated Smithey's mental health in 2003 and again
recently, said that over the decades Smithey worked hard to transform
herself.

"She has no risk factors for violence," said Kohlhepp. "She doesn't have a criminal mind-set."

The key moment, said Smithey, came in 1983 when she received a letter
from Emma Simmons, Sandy Gerberick's mother, forgiving her for the
crime.

"She made me feel that I wasn't a monster," said Smithey. "I felt if
she could forgive me for taking