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Tonight's episode of WEtv's "Secret Lives of Women" sits down with four women who have one thing in common. Their sons have all committed or been accused of murder.

Like other kind of rubberneck-y topics the documentary program has covered (sex addiction, child brides, occultism) "Mothers of Murderers" is queasily fascinating because, despite having had incredibly disparate experiences, these are all women who love and stand by their kids. Even Mary Clark, at left, whose son Nathan is not awaiting trial or in prison, but was shot to death by police officers at the concert where he murdered five people in 2004.

From Tragedy to Triumph
Carol Kent's son, Jason, was arrested and convicted for the murder of his wife's ex-husband in 1999. A motivational speaker and the matriarch of Navy family with devout Christian roots, Carol has described her personal spiritual struggles in a series of books and lectures.

She described to WeTV what it's like knowing that her son will be in prison for the rest of his life. She's also spearheading a crusade to help the parents of prisoners deal with the feelings of guilt, anger and self-hatred associated with the conviction of their children.

"We had to face the fact that our son had indeed pulled the trigger in a public parking lot and a man had died," she says on "Secret Lives," "We began a journey we never could have anticipated in this lifetime."

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Writing It Out
Carol (at right) detailed her struggle to accept that her beloved only son was capable of murder in her book, "When I Lay My Isaac Down: Unshakable Faith in Unthinkable Circumstances."

She's not the only relative of a killer to explore the experience with words. Lionel Dahmer's "A Father's Story" is a tenuous, unbelieving exploration of the psychosis of his son, notorious serial killer Jeffrey. Kent Whitaker's "Murder by Family" describes what it's like to love a son who engineered the deaths of his mother and brother and attempted to kill his father.

Melissa Moore -- whose father, Keith Hunter Jesperson, is thought to have killed anywhere from eight to 160 -- runs a blog for the family members of murderers at Shattered Silence.

Struggling to Make Sense
Other women featured -- whose sons were involved in gang violence, a revenge killing and the infamous Damageplan murders of 2004 -- haven't necessarily come to the same relative peace as Carol Kent.

Kimberly Jenkins-Snodgrass maintains the innocence of her son, Kevin, while Cassondre Smith simply worries that her son Tristan will be killed in retaliation for his involvement in gang murders, whether he's in prison or out.

Below, check out a clip from "The Secret Lives of Women: Mothers of Murderers."



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