NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee man, Oscar Smith, who was convicted of murdering his estranged wife and her two teenage sons, was scheduled for execution on Thursday morning, three years after narrowly escaping death due to a last-minute reprieve. The 75-year-old Smith has consistently maintained his innocence and has expressed concerns about the failures of the judicial system in his case.
Smith was found guilty of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith, along with her sons, 13-year-old Jason Burnett and 16-year-old Chad Burnett, at their Nashville home on October 1, 1989. A Davidson County jury sentenced him to death in July 1990. Despite his claims of innocence, Smith's conviction has faced scrutiny, particularly following the emergence of new evidence that suggested DNA from an unknown person was present on one of the murder weapons.
In 2022, a Davidson County Criminal Court judge denied Smith's request to reopen his case, stating that the evidence supporting his guilt was overwhelming, and the new DNA evidence did not significantly impact the outcome of the trial. The court concluded that the evidence against Smith remained compelling.
For the past five years, executions in Tennessee have been suspended, first due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently because of procedural missteps by the Tennessee Department of Correction. Smith was particularly close to being executed in 2022, only to receive a surprise reprieve from Republican Governor Bill Lee. This intervention arose when it was discovered that the lethal injection drugs intended for his execution had not undergone the required testing.
A subsequent investigation lasting a year unveiled numerous discrepancies and issues with Tennessee's execution protocols, prompting the Correction Department to implement new guidelines in December. However, these new protocols have raised concerns; the updated execution manual contains scant information regarding the lethal injection chemicals and lacks specific directives for testing the drugs. Additionally, it eliminated the requirement for the drugs to come from a licensed pharmacist. Smith's attorney, Amy Harwell, criticized the new guidelines, suggesting that the department, having been caught violating its own rules, opted to remove those rules entirely.
The recent changes to execution protocols have led to a lawsuit filed by Smith and other death row inmates, challenging the Department of Correction's new standards. A trial related to this lawsuit is set to take place next January, further complicating the future of Smith's execution and the broader issue of capital punishment in Tennessee.
