Mississippi’s highest court has agreed to hear Carly Gregg’s appeal for the conviction of the murders of her mother and stepfather. The now 16-year-old was 14 at the time of the shooting of her parents. She was convicted of murder, attempted murder, and tampering with evidence in their deaths, and eagerly showed a friend their bodies.
Pleading Insanity
On March 19, 2024, Carly Gregg murdered her mother, Ashley Smylie, and attempted to murder her stepfather, Heath Smylie, in their Brandon, Mississippi home. She shot them both, her mother first in the head, and then an hour later, her stepfather in the shoulder.
Gregg was tried as an adult for five days in a Rankin County court before being found guilty by a jury and sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole, and 10 years for tampering with evidence.
At trial, Gregg pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Her defense argued that she had been suffering from mental health issues at the time of the tragic shooting. She filed the appeal of her conviction with the Mississippi Supreme Court in September 2025. She stated that multiple errors occurred at her trial, arguing that she should be granted a new trial.
New Trial Appeal
On Thursday, April 2, 2026, the Mississippi Supreme Court agreed to hear Gregg’s appeal and scheduled oral arguments for 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27, where each side will have 30 minutes to speak.
A reply brief filed earlier this year, Gregg says she was compelled to sit through psychiatric examinations by state experts before the defense had announced its intent to pursue not guilty by reason of insanity.
Gregg’s defense argued the psychiatric exams were a violation of her Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights, stating, “Accelerating evaluations and discovery to preserve a trial date undermines due process and fundamental fairness.”
Gregg’s attorneys believe that the accelerated pace at which their client was forced to move to meet the trial court deadlines, rather than pushing the trial date back, put them in a bad position.
“The trial judge did not say that continuances are disfavored, discouraged, or rarely granted; he stated without qualification that this Court ‘does not continue cases,’ and did so while announcing a firm September trial setting and admonishing counsel to proceed accordingly,” Gregg’s appellate attorney wrote.
During pretrial proceedings, Judge Dewey K. Arthur weighed sanctions as the defense missed several discovery deadlines, although it was all related to the timing of the trial setting.
Carly Gregg’s Arguments
Gregg’s appeal also addresses the testimony that her defense deems inadmissible. During her testimony, the state’s expert, Rebecca Kirk, spoke about the novel Crime and Punishment, which was referenced in Gregg’s treatment notes. The defense says they are seeking to dismiss that portion, and not the substance of her analysis.
“The detailed narration of the novel’s plot added no clinical, therapeutic, or diagnostic value,” Gregg’s attorneys argue.
“The state did not contend, and the record does not reflect, that Carly identified with the protagonist, discussed the book’s moral philosophy, or connected its themes to her own conduct. Instead, the State selected one of the most infamous novels in Western literature about murder and justification of violence and placed its storyline before the jury. This was not contextual clarification; it was narrative substitution designed to shape the jury’s perception of Carly’s mental state through association with a fictional character.”
The appeal also argues there were errors in Gregg’s sentencing, and they feel the jury was improperly instructed. They say that the jury should have been told that in situations with juveniles, parole eligibility is the default, not life without parole.
