>> jimmy: thanks to tiffany haddish, carrie-anne moss and tinashe. apologies to matt damon. we ran out of time for him. "nightline" is next. thanks for watching. good night! ♪ this is "nightline." >> byron: tonight, an american couple electrocuted in the hot tub at a resort in mexico. one killed, the other injured. the desperate attempt to help them and the investigation into what happened. plus, pamela smart finally accepting responsibility. >> i found myself responsible for something i dispretty didn't want to be responsible for. my husband's murder.

>> byron: the woman at the center of the notorious trial that put court tv on the map. >> i never would have done it if pam didn't tell me to. >> byron: inspiring a star, nicole kidman, serving life in parole, getting her 16-year-old lover to kill her husband. >> she honestly was involved right up to her neck in the murder of greg, and she has admitted that. >> byron: will it be enough to get her out of prison? one on one with margaret cho. the comic once considered too edgy celebrated for her refusal to be anyone but herself. >> i'm a woman, i'm queer, i'm asian american. i'm all of these different identities. >> byron: this pride month celebrate going honoring trail-blazing queer comedians. >> when you can laugh about something, you can have a glimmer of hope that you'll survive it. >> byron: revealing now how she navigated a chance sell culture without losing her edge. there's always a fine line to

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♪ >> byron: good evening. thank you for joining us. a horrifying scene at a resort in mexico. two americans electrocuted in the hotel's "koozy. one victim died, another transported to the hospital in

tucson, arizona. here's abc's matt gutman with details. >> reporter: tonight this dramatic video showing the moments two americans are bleefds to have left hand electrocuted in a hot cub at a mexico resort. bystanders screaming for help as one person is seen pulled to safety. amidst the chaos on that pool deck, you can see someone esthering cpr. the sonora attorney general says it's investigating the incident, stating 43-year-old jorge was killed, 35-year-old lizette injured. they used only the vehicle gyms' first names. sources telling abc news they were a couple from el paso, texas. the tragic incident unfolding tuesday evening at the sonoran sea resort. the attorney general adding forensic analysis will be conducted to determine the origin of the electrical failure. >> byron: our thanks to matt. we've reached out to the resort for comment multiple times and so far have not heard back. we turn now to pamela smart.

her 1991 trial was one of the first to ever be broadcast, captivating the country, bringing every sland husband detail, and there were plenty, into america's living rooms. now smart, who's always maintained her innocence, is finally accepting her role in her husband's murder. all in a bid for freedom. here's my "nightline" coanchor juju chang. >> my name is pamela smart. i've been incarcerated since 1990. >> juju: pamela smart is one of the longest-serving female inmates in new york, nearly 34 years, for conspiring to have her 16-year-old lover and his friends kill her husband, greg. >> i found myself responsible for something i desperately didn't want to be responsible for, my husband's murder. >> juju: for the first time on camera, smart accepting full responsibility for the 1990 shooting death in her latest plea for freedom. >> i had to acknowledge for the first time in my own, you know, mind in my own heart, how

responsible i was. because i had deflected blame all the time. >> juju: for three decades, she's denied her involvement in the crime. never saying that she orchestrated or even knew about greg's murder. her longtime lawyer today going a bit further. >> during the course of the trial, the state actually presented evidence that we would probably embrace wherein she was the ultimate cheerleader. pam would not disagree. she was just feeding and feeding and feeding throughout the course of not just a day or two but weeks that led up to the death of her husband. >> reporter: paul magiotto prosecuted smart ace case. >> she's like the mauve yoes sa boss, who isn't there necessarily when the hit occurs but who's ordered the killing. >> juju: smart's refusal to admit her role in the murder has been a stumbling block to potential clemency. i interviewed her for the first time face-to-face in 2019. did you mastermind the murder --

>> absolutely not, no. >> she honestly was involved right up to her neck in the murder of greg. and she willingly and honestly has confronted that and has admitted that. >> juju: before the trials of o.j. simpson and the menendez brothers, there was pamela smart. her televised murder trial in the early '90s captivating the nation. >> groupies at the pamela smart trial camp out for hours. >> if this story were a made for tv movie, and it surely would be, you might not believe it. >> juju: the then 22-year-old pam instantly becoming a true crime celebrity. >> it was this sort of novel concept of being able to watch a trial unfold on camera. pam smart was basically a household name. when you're talking about high-profile villains. >> juju: viewers were glued, helping usher in the era of court tv with the sensational tale of forbidden love and a brutal crime.

her teenage lover testifying against her at trial. >> i never would have done it if pam didn't tell me to. she was the first girl i ever loved. i pulled the trigger. god forgive me. >> made a lot of mistakes so far in this case. >> i sure have. yes, i have. >> was killing your husband one of those mistakes? >> no, it wasn't. >> juju: the saga inspiring movies like "to die for." >> did you get the gun? >> yeah. >> juju: with nicole kidman and joaquin phoenix, and the true crime tv "murder in new hampshire" starring helen hunt as smart. >> the defendant initiated an affair with billy flynn. you're telling us that just you and pam are spending the night together? >> i think it's weird, man. >> juju: smart, now 56, plead for a hearing with new hampshire governor sununu hoping to have her sentence of life without parole commuted. >> imrespectfully asking for the opportunity to come before you,

the new hampshire executive council, and have an honest conversation with you. >> she's been in prison a long time. she's got nothing to lose here. >> juju: in 1990, the execution-style murder of 24-year-old greg smart shattered this close-knit town of derry, new hampshire. pam, who worked as a media coordinator at a local high school, seemingly grieving for her husband. authorities soon discover her illicit relationship with 16-year-old billy flynn. >> pamela smart had two big problems at trial. number one is all the young people involved in this turned on her. number two is there was an audiotape, a secret wire that one of them made of her, when in the end was devastating. >> juju: cecilia pierce, pam's student intern at the school, recorded multiple conversations with smart which became a major part of the trial.

>> juju: all teenage accomplices took plea deals and testified against smart at trial. court tv capturing a pivotal moment. >> she told me she'd leave the backdoor unlock. particular particular not to hurt her dog. and that we could ransack the apartment, the condo, take what we wanted. and when greg came home, we were to kill him. >> juju: the two boys who committed the crime, flynn and pete randall, served 25 years in prison for second-degree murder. both were released in 2015. only smart remains behind bars. greg smart's uncle, jim smart, says that's exactly where she belongs. >> she still is not answering the question that she had greg smart murdered. and until she does actually say

that she planned it and made the kids do it, then i will never be okay with her getting out of jail. >> juju: i've been covering the smart case for years. most recently talking with pamela last year by phone from bedford women's prison. what exactly do you think you're responsible for when it comes to greg's death? >> i'm responsible for not picking up on the warning signs that were there when bill was becoming more obsessive and unhinged, for not doing something about it, for becoming involved with him in the first place. i was married. i should have been better. and because of my failures, greg, an innocent person, is no longer here. >> she's never looked the camera and the fais face and said, yes, i got my lover, billy flynn, to kill my husband. until she admits responsibility,

i would say no one is entitled to have their sentence considered. >> everybody loved greg. he had the prettiest smile. he was a jokester. he loved life. he didn't deserve to be murdered. >> juju: pamela's attorneys point out she's earned multiple graduate degrees, is an or daned minister, and a model inmate. >> she guides over inmates. she helps correctional officers at the facility. she mediates disputes. she literally saved another inmate's life. >> juju: smart has asked for a hearing to lessen her sentence three different times. each time, she's been denied. in 2019, i asked her about one of those failed appeals. wa does redemption mean to you? >> it means that we don't define people by the very worst thing they've ever done in life. it means that people change. people grow. and they evolve over time. >> juju: smart's attorney saying, if she gets a hearing, she'll be forthcoming. >> we invite all of greg's

family to be at that hearing. we invite them to submit questions to pam, and pam will answer each and every one of them. >> juju: reacting to smart's most recent appeal, governor sununu telling abc news, new hampshire's process for commutation or pardon requests is fair and thorough. pamela smart will be given the same opportunity to petition the council for a herring as any other individual. but greg's uncle says it will take more than a hearing to change his mind. >> i'll go to my deathbed believing she shouldn't be out until she admits what she did. >> byron: our thanks to juju. when we return, we're one on one with comic margaret cho, who lets us in on how her boundary-pushing comedy has dodged cancel culture all these years. with apretude, a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of hiv without daily prep pills. with one shot every other month,

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♪ >> byron: welcome back. after decades of being told her comic style was too coarse or too queer or too asian, even not asian enough, marking cho cho is being celebrated among legends in a new doc on trail-blazing lgbtq comics, part of "nightline's" "pride out loud" series. here's abc's demarco morgan. >> welcome to might line, margaret cho, good to see you. you realize you're an icon? >> i mean -- no, really? i don't know. i guess -- thank you. but how wonderful. that's fantastic. >> what is it like to hear people say, i am doing this because of you? >> that i love. because when i started, there

were no asian american comedians. there were relatively few women comedians. and really very few queer comedians. and so i felt very alone and very isolated. so now that there's so many people who credit me with wanting to do this, i love it. it's my greatest achievement. >> let's talk about this documentary, "outstanding comedy revelation" features lily to tomlin, rosie o'donnell who you've looked up to, eddie izzard, sandra bernhard. let's take a look. >> that connection that we have with other gay gay artists is really powerful. and sandra was just -- i mean, everything she did, i just wanted to -- i wanted to be like her. >> comedy is that balm that says, i'm going to soothe you and smooth out all of your fears, and i'm going to liberate you from your own repression. >> it's so fascinating. it's honest. it's raw. why was it important for you to take part in it?

>> well, think it's the culmination of my life's work. it's the history what was i've been doing all this time, for this 41 years, and all of us as these queer comedians, we've just finally found ourselves in a place where we can do this. and we can tell the world about what we've been doing. >> you know what there's always like a fine line to walk when you're on the stage. how do you balance the two? especially, you know in a world now where we're dealing with cancel culture? >> i think cancel culture really only asks that voices who are empowered have empathy. that we are speaking from a place of understanding, of intersectionality, which is something that i've always done. because i can't help it. i am so many intersections. i'm a woman, i'm queer, i'm asian american, i'm all of these different identities that i have to sort of walk around in between, and they don't always connect. so it's about learning to lean into empathy as a tool when

writing, which is something comedians never had to do. it just asked us to be more skilled. >> and you've used your platform when it comes to social change. how can comedy be used as a tool? >> like, am i gay? am i straight? and i realized -- i'm just slutty. >> you're talking about tough issues like racism, sexism, homophobia. >> oh, yeah. comedians have always challenged those things. these hard messages are easier taken if it's done with a joke. and it's done with a laugh. and it's done with love and empathy. >> you remember there was a time when coming out was career-ending. what are your thoughts now for the younger comedians? this new generation who's like, take me as i am? >> it's so wonderful. it's so exciting that this new generation of amazis g can present themselves as they are. they're really identity-forward, which is so exciting and what

we've all been working towards. >> what's the biggest compliment that you give to yourself that you've gotten from so many people who have looked up to you? >> any time i see a comedian like bowen yang or ally wong or awkwafina or all of these different people i'm like, there's my child. that's my child. and that's really true. >> let's talk about your parents. they ran a gay bookstore in san francisco. what type of impact do they have on who you are today? >> well, the impact i think really was about siding with other minorities. they wanted to find community with other people that had been oppressed. so we always lived in black neighborhoods. we always worked in gay neighborhoods. we were always part of these different oppressed minorities. because together, we had power. and so that's really an important thing that they taught me is to find your people, find your people who know what it's like to be like you. >> speaking of race and kind of

gender identity issues, how can we use comedy to sort of tackle these issues but bring the country together? we're so divided, now more than ever. >> it's really a sad thing that we're so divided. there are certain things that should be common denominators, certain things we all should be able to laugh at. i think we're kinding getting there. when we can get these documentaries out there, we can get our stories out there, people can see how similar we all actually are. >> you said in the documentary that comedy is life-affirming. how so? >> it's hope. when you can laugh about something, you can have a glimmer of hope that you'll survive it. in its most basic way, laughter is a sharp intake of breath, which guarantees life for the next moment. so it's truly life-affirming. >> what do you want to be remembered mostly for? >> that i'm showing anybody, they can do it to r. that, to me, the best way to be remembered. >> you did it, you can remember that. thank you very much, i appreciate it. >> thank you.

>> and the best of luck to you, too. thank you. >> byron: our thanks to demarco. when we come back, remembering basketball legend jerry west. feeling sluggish or weighed down? could be a sign that your digestive system isn't at its best. but a little metamucil everyday can help. metamucil's psyllium fiber gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down and also helps lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. so you can feel lighter and more energetic. lighten everyday the metamucil way. feel less sluggish & weighed down after just 14 days. sign up for the 2 week challenge at metamucil.com you can't leave without cuddles. but, you also can't leave covered in hair. with bounce pet, you can cuddle and brush that hair off. bounce, it's the sheet. can neuriva support your brain health? mary, janet, hey!!

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♪ >> byron: finally tonight, the world of basketball mourns the loss of the incomparable jerry west. west defined basketball for more than 60 years. a literal icon, his silhouette inspiring the nba's logo. the 14-time all-star with the l.a. lakers reaching the nba finals nine times. west went on to coach, then become an executive, building the lakers into a dynasty by bringing in kobe bryant, shaquille o'neal, and coach phil jackson. jerry west died today at 86. a life well lived. that's "nightline" for this evening. thanks for the company, america. good night.