An Alabama woman who spent time behind bars for shooting dead her alleged rapist is back in prison.
According to AL.com, Brittany Smith is facing up to 45 days in jail after violating the terms of her probation by attending a Halloween Trunk-or-Treat event with her children.
Smith previously served 18 months at Jackson County Jail as part of a plea deal that took into account the time she spent in prison awaiting trial. Upon her release in May, Smith was required to serve another 18 months of house arrest.
Court documents obtained by the news outlet indicate that on October 27, Smith asked her probation officer if it would be okay for her to hand out candy with her kids at a Trunk-or-Treat event in Stevenson on Saturday.
A relatively new phenomenon, trunk-or-treating events see parents come together in a parking lot where cars are decked out with Halloween decorations and candy. Kids are then invited to meander from vehicle to vehicle collecting sweet treats at each stop.
Despite having her request to attend the event denied, Smith contacted her probation officer by text message to let them know they had attended the truck-or-treat but remained in the car throughout. A video was reportedly also sent showing her remaining inside the vehicle.
The excursion was nevertheless deemed a breach of her probation with court documents indicating that Smith had violated the terms of her release twice since August. A warrant was issued for Smith on Monday and she was booked into Jackson County Jail on Tuesday.
Smith's previous prison stay came after she pled guilty to the murder of Todd Smith, who was of no relation, on January 16, 2018. She alleged during a Stand Your Ground pre-trial hearing that Todd had raped and strangled her just hours earlier.
A sexual assault nurse, Jeanine Suermann, examined Smith after the alleged rape. She testified to finding more than 30 injuries on Brittany's body including marks around her neck and inner thighs.
Smith told Judge Jenifer Holt that she killed Todd after he became involved in a violent confrontation with her brother, Chris McCallie, who had come over to her house armed with a gun to confront Todd about the alleged rape.
She told the court a fight ensued and that Todd was strangling McCallie and threatening to kill them both when she shot him.
According to an investigation by The New Yorker, Todd had been arrested 80 times prior to his death, with at least six of these arrests being as a result of domestic violence.
Despite the case put forward by Smith during the hearing, Holt denied her request for immunity based on Alabama's Stand Your Ground law which allows a defendant to use "deadly force" if "justified" as self-defense.
Holt argued that Smith's case did not fall into this category as she did not need to use lethal force during the altercation and that her brother was ultimately the aggressor, as he brought the firearm to her home and started the confrontation with Todd.
A series of unsuccessful appeals followed before Smith agreed to plead guilty to murder a month before her trial was due to begin. If the case had gone to trial and she was convicted, she could have faced life in prison.
Newsweek has contacted Jackson County Jail for comment.
