Nation IN BRIEF : SOUTH CAROLINA : Report Ordered on Susan Smith Defense

A judge in York, S.C., ordered the defense lawyer for Susan Smith, who confessed to drowning her two sons in a lake, to reveal whether he will use an insanity defense to try to save his client from the electric chair. Circuit Court Judge William Howard said Smith’s defense lawyer David Bruck must report by Feb. 28 whether he plans to use the defense strategy in the trial of the 23-year-old former secretary, due to stand trial April 24 for the murders of her sons Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months. Bruck has not disclosed whether he will use the insanity defense or claim that Smith is guilty but mentally ill and told the court he needed more information before reaching a decision.