Netflix has been on a roll in the true crime sphere, attracting amateur sleuths to the platform with documentaries like Killer Sally, Unsolved Mysteries Volume 3 and Capturing the Killer Nurse.
However, the streamer’s latest offering – State of Alabama vs Brittany Smith – is less of a cold case and more a story about justice.
The upcoming documentary looks at the trial of Brittany Smith, a mother of four from Alabama convicted of murdering her rapist Todd Smith despite claiming that she did so in self-defence.
“This documentary tells the harrowing story of a woman trying to use Alabama’s Stand Your Ground law after killing a man she says brutally attacked her,” Netflix teases.
Here’s everything you need to know about what happened to Brittany Smith and where she is now.
Who is Brittany Smith?
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Brittany Smith is a 34-year-old woman from Stevenson, Alabama, who pleaded guilty to the murder of her rapist in 2020.
In January 2018, Smith shot and killed Todd Smith – an acquaintance of no relation who knew her from their teenage years but fell out of touch – arguing that she did so in self-defence.
Brittany and pit-bull breeder Todd reconnected when she bought one of his puppies, and after he said that he was stranded at a park in South Pittsburg, she agreed to let him spend a night at her house, according to AL.com.
She claimed that Todd – who was on a combination of Xanax, amphetamines, alcohol and meth according to The New Yorker – became violent and raped her, telling the court: “He told me not to say a f**king word and if I even breathe wrong he’d kill me.”
Brittany then rang her brother Chris McCallie to ask for a lift to a nearby petrol station, who arrived to pick both her and Todd up. She testified that she was too scared to report the rape as she worried Todd would kill her brother, so wrote what happened on a note to the store clerk and left it with him, telling her brother to talk to the clerk when he dropped them back off at the house.
According to Brittany’s testimony, McCallie returned to her home with a gun and confronted Todd.
When Todd put McCallie in a headlock and began strangling him whilst threatening to kill them both, Brittany shot him.
“Someone just got shot at 211 Sharon Drive,” Brittany told a 911 operator. “He – he tried to kill me and…. Just have an ambulance come, please, because I don’t want this man to die.”
Brittany Smith was indicted on murder charges in March 2018 by a grand jury and pleaded guilty to murder in 2020, a month before the trial was due to start.
She was sentenced to 20 years in prison, telling AL.com: “I’m really disappointed with having to take a plea deal.
“I’m not a murderer but when it’s the lesser of two evils what can you do?”
Where is Brittany Smith now?
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While Smith was sentenced to 20 years in prison, she was only ordered to serve 18 months of the sentence and 18 months on house arrest.
After receiving credit for time already served in jail awaiting trial, Smith was required to spend seven months in prison.
Following her release from incarceration, Smith reportedly told Alabama.com (via The US Sun): “This is gonna be in my past soon.
“It’s gonna be behind me. It’s a good feeling. After the rough waters, smooth sailing.”
Smith appears in Netflix’s documentary State of Alabama vs Brittany Smith, with the 34-year-old saying in the trailer: “I want to get my children back. I want them to know that mommy’s not a murderer and that mommy defended herself – and that you should always defend yourself.”
State of Alabama vs Brittany Smith arrives on Netflix on Thursday 10th November. Read our guides to the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix.
Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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