Oscar Franklin Smith was executed by lethal injection on May 22, marking Tennessee's first execution in over four years, with the 75-year-old inmate using his final words to condemn the justice system and criticize Gov. Bill Lee.
Smith was convicted in 1990 for the 1989 murders of his estranged wife, Judy Robirds Smith, and her two teenage sons, Chad and Jason Burnett, in Nashville, according to the Tennessean. Prosecutors said he shot and stabbed the victims in their home during a period of separation from his wife.
Smith maintained his innocence throughout the trial and appeals process. His execution had previously been postponed three times—twice due to the pandemic, and once in 2022 over a lethal injection protocol failure that prompted a multi-year review and overhaul of Tennessee's execution procedures.
At 10:32 a.m. inside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Smith delivered a final three-minute statement, primarily directed at Lee. "Somebody needs to tell the governor the justice system doesn't work," he said, according to the outlet.
Smith criticized the governor's role in denying clemency and called on him to "get a backbone." Witnesses reported that Smith appeared composed as he spoke. Minutes later, he was administered pentobarbital and pronounced dead at 10:47 a.m.
In the days leading up to his execution, Smith reportedly asked his family not to attend, saying he didn't want their final memory of him to be on a gurney.
Smith's death reignited debate over capital punishment in Tennessee, particularly in light of the previous procedural failures surrounding his halted 2022 execution. His attorneys and anti-death penalty advocates have pointed to his repeated claims of innocence and the broader implications of potential wrongful convictions.
