♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, breaking news. a deadly mass shooting in michigan state university in east lansing. at least three people are dead, five others injured. terrified students and staffers running for safety. the campus on lockdown. plus crime and punishment. the pamela smart case once captivated the nation. >> she became a villain. she became a tabloid star in the worst of ways. >> the tale of forbidden love helping to usher in the era of court tv. >> i never would have done it if pam didn't tell me too. >> she is serving a life sentence. >> do you feel this is your last best shot at freedom? >> a new hearing might help her one day walk free. but does she deserve a second

chance? and damar hamlin. >> it was god's way of using me and uniting the whole world in prayer. >> his first interview since suffering cardiac arrest on the field. one-on-one with our michael strahan. his miraculous recovery and is return to football in his future? >> "nightline" will be right back. re wondering what actually goes into your multivitamin? at new chapter, its' innovation, organic ingredients, and fermentation. fermentation? yes. formulated to help you body really truly absorb the natural goodness. new chapter. wellness, well done. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing? hashtag still not coughing?! mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from chest congestion and any type of cough, day or night. mucinex dm. it's comeback season.

good evening. thank you for joining us. we begin tonight with breaking news out of michigan with another mass shooting. this time at two campus buildings in michigan state university in east lansing. >> we're getting reports of multiple victims for an active shooter. >> according to police, at least three people are dead and five others injured. >> all five of those victims remain in critical condition. >> terrified students barricading themselves in their dorms as police search for the suspect. the campus placed on lockdown. >> we saw people start running for their lives, and we immediately knew something's up. we got to get inside, lock the house down, turn off all the lights and barricade ourselves inside. >> police releasing this photo of the suspect, who they now say is dead. >> that suspect is -- we now know is a 43-year-old male. that 43-year-old male is not

affiliated in any way with michigan state university. >> this is the 67th mass shooting in the country this year. we turn now the pamela smart. her media trial created a media circus in the 1990s, ushering in an era of gavel to gavel coverage. it was a sordid tale of a young woman using her teenaged lover to execute her husband. for more than three decades, smart has been behind bars. tonight she is on the eve of a hearing that some say will be her best shot of some day walking free. but does she deserve a second chance? here is my "nightline" co-anchor juju chang. >> if anybody deserve freedom, it's pamela. >> why do you think she deserves freedom? >> it's been 32 years. a prison is a place to be rehabilitated.

if anybody is a rehabilitated inmate, it's pamela. >> it was the headline-grabbing trial of the '90s. pamela smart's murder case captivated the country. >> groupies of the pamela smart trial camped out for hours. >> if this was a made for tv movie, and it surely will be, you might not believe it. >> the then 22-year-old convinced her teenaged lover and his friends to murder her husband, greg smart. >> she became a villain. she became a tabloid star in the worst of ways. >> people were glued to it. one of the first nationally televised murder trials, helping usher in the era of court tv with the sensational tale of forbidden love and a brutal crime. >> i never would have done it if pam didn't tell me to. she is the first girl i ever loved. i pulled the trigger. god forgive me. >> you 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. >> the saga inspiring movies like "to die for." >> did you get the gun? >> yeah. >> we're going to sit here, is that okay? i've been following the story for years. >> i've been portrayed as black widow, ice princess, a killer. >> smart adamant all this time that she was innocent, while serving life without parole. did you mastermind the murder of your husband? >> absolutely not, no. >> part of the fascination is that she still says she didn't do it. and it makes you say is there any chance maybe she's telling the truth? >> now for the first time ever, smart, on the eve of a high stakes hearing that might be her best shot at one day walking free. sparking hope for some. >> pamela smart deserves a second chance. >> and skepticism among others. >> until she admits that she was

the orchestrator of this crime, i don't believe she is rehabilitated at all. >> we're getting a call from pam smart. smart herself pleading her case, calling us from behind bars. do you feel like this is sort of your last best shot at freedom? >> i actually do. it feels like this is the last stand, so to speak. >> in 1990, the execution-style murder of greg smart shattered this close-knit town of derry, new hampshire. pam, who worked at a local high school, seemingly grieving for her newly wed husband. but authorities soon discovered she'd been having an affair with a teenaged student, william, or billy flynn. >> there were two major issues in this case. number one is all of the boys turning on her. and number two is the audiotape. >> yeah, i know you're going to on the witness stand. he's going to put you on there,

and he'll say did pam do it? >> she is like the mafioso is a boss who isn't there necessarily when the hit occurs but who has ordered the killing. >> all four teenaged accomplice, including her former lover, who pulled the trigger, have long since been released. only smart remains behind bars. why do you deserve release from prison? >> well, i don't know if i would characterize it as deserving it. i am asking for mercy and compassion. i spent 32 1/2 years in prison. when will enough be enough? i've been pretty much the epitome of rehabilitation. >> just listen to her heart saying look, i'm probably going to die in prison. i had that feeling before. >> derrick hamilton was wrongfully incarcerated for 21 years for a murder he didn't commit. his conviction overturned in 2015. >> i believe that every human

being have redeemable qualities. society has an obligation to take a look at those. it don't mean you get a get out of jail free card, but they should evaluate who you are today. >> smart's only hope for release, a commutation by new hampshire's governor. but every time she has applied for hearing with the governor's executive council, she has been denied. the council and attorney general argue that smart has never truly admitted her guilt. >> guilt and innocence shouldn't matter when we talk about rehabilitation. to say no to pamela smart is to say no to rehabilitation. >> hamilton encouraged smart to take her fight to new hampshire's supreme court, leading to tomorrow's pivotal hearing. in her recent filing, and for the first time, pam says she accepts responsibility. 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 done better. and because of my failures, greg, an innocent person, no longer here. >> some people say the fact that you're still incarcerated has to do with not quote, unquote admitting your guilt. how relevant do you think it should be? >> i don't know how much more responsible i can be than saying that i am responsible for greg's death, and it is my fault that greg is no longer here. if people want me to admit to parts of things that i did not do, you know, that's not going to happen. the only thing have i left in this world is my word. >> she has never looked the camera in the 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. >> paul maggiotto was the lead prosecutor in the smart trial. he urges the public to remember greg smart. >> i don't want the facts to be forgiven. greg's life was taken away without any consideration by anybody based on the selfishness of pam smart. >> pamela smart's supporters have written hundreds of letters, examples that her attorneys believe show her being a model prisoner. >> i was working with -- >> bea gonzalez wrote one of those letters. she and smart once lived in the same cell block. >> she is my best friend. she is my sister. >> the two women forging a bond, sharing their dreams of motherhood beyond the prison walls. >> when i go home and if i have a daughter, i'm going to name her pamela. >> why? >> to honor her, so she feel like she got something out here in the world still waiting for her. sorry.

>> bea was released in 2015, and later had a daughter, pammy, that tribute to her friend. >> slide up. >> mommy! >> but the first time you met pammy in person, what was that like? >> oh, my gosh, my heart was just soaring. she's like the light of my life right now. >> as tomorrow's hearing draws near, bea plans to visit and pray with her friend. what do you tell her? >> it will be fine. whatever god decide he's going to do. and you just can't give up. >> our thanks to juju. up next, damar hamlin, one-on-one with michael strahan. severe crohn's disease. o now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up ♪ ♪ i've got symptom relief ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪

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much of america remembers that horrific night that damar hamlin suffered cardiac arrest, turning a football field into a prayer circle. the nation seeming to breathe a collective sigh of relief on his incredible recovery. his story now inspiring others, and why he says god has bigger plans for him. here is abc's michael strahan. >> ladies and gentlemen, damar hamlin! >> damar hamlin didn't win a super bowl ring this year, but he was still one of the biggest champions at last night's big game. the buffalo bills safety has come a long way since collapsing on the field during monday night football just six weeks ago. >> now another bills player is down. >> the 24-year-old surviving sudden cardiac arrest as millions watched on live television.

>> well, this is the last thing you want to see. >> let's go back to january 2nd. how were you feeling before the game and when you were out there? normal? >> super normal. feeling great. >> can you tell me what you remember about the game up until the hit. >> i remember the things we were focused on going into the game, just trying to get a win. >> just seconds after hamlin made a typical tackle, he stood up and then suddenly collapsed. >> you have the hit. you make the tackle. do you remember standing up after you make that tackle? >> that's something i don't want to get deep into, into the details of. >> fans around the country held their breath, and distraught players on both teams began to pray. >> the ambulance is out there on the field. >> the assistant athletic trainer denny kellington, he came out and administered cpr to you, alerted everyone the situation was pretty serious.

>> i owe him my life. he would say he was doing his job. that's something i'm truly thankful for. hyogone back and looked at the video? >> i watched it once or twice when i was in the icu. i really can't watch it too much. >> what was that like to watch that? >> just a crazy feeling. i can't even describe yet. i'm still processing. >> hamlin, a pittsburgh native, played in college there to stay close to home. he led his team in tackles for two seasons. when the buffalo bills called, he was a sixth round draft pick. >> yes, sir, you won't regret it. >> signing a four-year rookie contract. this was just his second season in the league. >> you were in icu. you were on a ventilator. you were sedated for several days. what are the first thing you remember when you started to wake up? >> just hearing family members. my mom, my dad, friends that were there. first thing i said when i woke up, "did we win?" >> yeah, dude. do you realize -- when i saw that, okay, he's an athlete. he's committed. because you wake up and "did we

win?" your mind is still on the game. >> i'm competitive. i'm playing with my full heart, everything i got in me. that competitive nature in me was just thinking about the game. and i just wanted to know, did we win? >> and what did they tell you? >> he said yes, i won. i won the game of life. >> your doctor in cincinnati, they called your recovery remarkable. three days on a ventilator. your neurological function is intact. i'm sitting here talking to you today. i feel like i wouldn't know anything ever happened to you. why do you think your recovery is so remarkable? >> first and foremost, just god, just a blessing, you know. it was god's way of using me and uniting the whole world in prayer. >> after hamlin was discharged from the icu, the question on so many minds, what caused his heart the stop beating. you're 24, peak physical condition. could run circles around me right now.

how did doctor describe what happened to you? >> that's something i want to stay away from. >> how are you doing physically? >> every morning, every night, i take ten deep breaths to myself. and it puts everything in perspective for me. so i'm doing great. >> how about emotionally? >> i'm still trying to process all the emotions and the trauma that comes from, you know, dealing with a situation like that. >> i'm looking at you now. you look great. so how you feeling? >> just been spending my time just spending it with family. they were there with me the whole time. they've been my support system, even from the beginning. >> and so how does that feel, to have so much love and so much support from your family? >> it makes you feel like you can't lose. win, lose or draw, i've got my family with me. so i'm doing things like that. spending more time with my little brother. just building a relationship

with him, getting so close to him, which i've wanted to do my whole life. i even stayed home. to allow him to grow up with that role model figure. >> do you want the get yourself become on the football field? >> eventually. that's always the goal. but i'm allowing that to be in god's hands. >> and did the doctors tell you it's possible? >> it's a tough situation. they -- you know, they can't really tell because it's like -- it's up to me thing i guess or it's a long road. >> hamlin's incredible story has now inspired others to learn how to save lives. since this has happened, the interest in learning cpr and cpr training has skyrocketed. and that's a direct impact because of you. >> yep. >> as you know, cpr saved my life earlier this year on the field. that's why i'm proud to announce that i'm partnering with the american heart association. >> we're trying to get 3 million people to apply and to learn cpr. >> you went for the big dog in your challenge. >> i'm challenging the

g.o.a.t.s, lebron james, tom brady and michelle obama, you've all been challenged. >> jumping right in, just targeting people that i've always looked to in my life as people i look up to. >> giving back to his community isn't new to hamlin. he launched his own foundation back in high school as a way to bring lasting impact to his community. since january 3rd, the chasing m foundation has already raised more than $9 million. >> my vision was about playing in the nfl and being the best player that i could be. but god's plan was to have a purpose greater than any game in this world. >> so what was it like for you to see that outpouring of love from the community you were part of? >> i couldn't believe my eyes. but it just showed the unity of our league, as athletes, and even bigger than just the athlete. and i really feel like the whole situation showed that we can all come together. >> i said your recovery was

remarkable, but sitting here talking to me, you're remarkable. >> appreciate that. >> our thanks to michael. coming up, stealing the show, the american sign language performer that caused a sensation during rihanna's halftime performance. ♪ hi. i keep my home fresh with febreze fade defy plug. and i use this. febreze uses a microchip to digitally control how much scent is released so it doesn't fade. ooh. does mine have a microchip? - uh-uh. - oh. febreze stays first-day fresh for 50 days. that is a shockingly long time. febreze also has a refill reminder light... it even reminds you to refill it? so i never miss a day of freshness... your home is so fresh! upgrade to febreze plug. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing?

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and finally tonight, justina miles making history at the super bowl. ♪

she's the first deaf female to provide american sign language during a super bowl halftime show. the 20-year-old going viral and winning hearts across the country with her high energy performance. she also signed during sheryl lee ralph's preshow performance of "lift every voice and sing." the philly native is a nursing student at bowie state university in maryland. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night. ow. thanks for the company, america. good night.