Beverly C. Russell Jr. was the stepfather of Susan Smith, the notorious woman who drowned her children. He was active in Republican politics and the Christian Coalition, the rightwing evangelical political association. He was also sexually abusing his stepdaughter Susan. She first tried to kill herself when she was thirteen. She told a school counselor that he was abusing her and the counselor talked to her mother and no charges were filed. She tried to kill herself again. This does not excuse her murdering her children but adds context to her life.
- Washington Post: Susan Smith’s Judgment Day
- LA Times: The River of Hypocrisy Runs Wide and Deep
- Chicago Tribune: Beyond Reason Beverly Russell’s Mixed-Up Prayers
01 Jan 1995