COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A parole board decided unanimously Wednesday that Susan Smith should remain in prison, despite her plea that God has forgiven her for infamously killing her two young sons 30 years ago by rolling her car into a South Carolina lake while they were strapped in their car seats.

It was the first parole hearing for Smith, 53, who is serving a life sentence after a jury convicted her of murder but decided to spare her the death penalty. She is eligible for a parole hearing every two years now that she has spent 30 years behind bars.

Smith made her case by video link from prison. She started by saying she was “very sorry,” then broke down in tears and bowed her head.

“I know what I did was horrible,” Smith said, pausing and then continuing with a wavering voice. “And I would give anything if I could go back and change it.”

In her final statements, Smith said God has forgiven her. “I ask that you show that same kind of mercy, as well,” she said.

Smith made international headlines in 1994 when she insisted for nine days that a Black carjacker drove away with her sons.