Tennessee man is executed for killing his wife and her 2 sons, 3 years after last-minute reprieve
Tennessee man is executed for killing his wife and her 2 sons, 3 years after last-minute reprieve
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee inmate Oscar Smith was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning for the 1989 murders of his estranged wife Judith Smith and her teenage sons, Jason and Chad Burnett.
Smith, 75, was pronounced dead after a lethal injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital. The 75-year-old had maintained his innocence, and in a lengthy series of final words, in part said, “Somebody needs to tell the governor the justice system doesn’t work.” Witnesses also heard Smith say, “I didn’t kill her.”
In a recent interview with AP, he primarily wanted to discuss the ways he felt the court system had failed him.
He was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith, 13-year-old Jason Burnett and 16-year-old Chad Burnett at their Nashville, Tennessee, home on Oct. 1, 1989. He was sentenced to death by a Davidson County jury in July 1990 for the murders.
In 2022, a Davidson County Criminal Court judge denied requests to reopen his case despite some new evidence that the DNA of an unknown person was on one of the murder weapons. The judge wrote that the evidence of Smith’s guilt was overwhelming and the DNA evidence did not tip the scales in his favor.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
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Two of Smith’s co-workers testified at trial that he had solicited them to kill Judith Smith, and he had a history of threats and violence against her and the boys. Smith had also taken out insurance policies on all three victims. And one of the child victims could be heard yelling what prosecutors said was, “Frank, no!” in the background of a 911 call on the night of the murder. Frank is Smith’s middle name and the one that he used regularly.
Terri Osborne and her brother Mike Robirds miss the sound of their sister’s voice on the other end of the phone, she told reporters after the execution. They’ll never get to plan Chad’s driving lessons or hear the “pure joy of hearing Jason’s laughter” again, she said.
The tragic deaths are a reminder of the devastating consequences of domestic violence, Osborne said.
“We know it is an incredibly hard thing to do to leave a spouse who is abusing, but pray that this case becomes a call to action, encouraging those in danger to seek help before it’s too late,” Osborne said.
It marked the first time Tennessee officials allowed a spiritual adviser into the chamber with the inmate. She was singing to Smith, praying, talking with him and comforting him.
Smith’s attorney, assistant federal public defender Amy Harwell, told reporters afterward he will be remembered for his “cantankerous, curmudgeonly brand of kindness” and leatherwork skill. She said Smith will not have an autopsy due to his religious beliefs. But she said other autopsies have shown this execution method causes “excruciating pain and suffering.”
Darlene Kimbrough, who knows Smith through her visits to another death row inmate over the past decade, said she sent him a card recently. It said, “‘I hope you know that you are loved,’” Kimbrough said. Unexpectedly, she received a letter back Tuesday, thanking her. She thinks that Smith was at peace with the idea of death, she said.
Tennessee executions have been on hold for five years, first because of COVID-19 and then because of missteps by the Tennessee Department of Correction.
Smith came within minutes of execution in 2022 before a surprise reprieve from Republican Gov. Bill Lee. It later turned out the lethal drugs for that planned execution had not been properly tested. A yearlong investigation revealed numerous other problems with Tennessee executions.
The correction department issued new guidelines for executions in December. The new execution manual contains a single page on the lethal injection chemicals with no specific directions for testing the drugs. It also removes the requirement that the drugs come from a licensed pharmacist. Smith’s attorney, Harwell, has said, “It’s as if, having been caught breaking their own rules, TDOC decided, ‘Let’s just not have rules.’”
The new protocols are the subject of a lawsuit filed by death row inmates, including Smith. A trial is set for next January.
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Associated Press journalists Jonathan Mattise and Kristin M. Hall contributed.
By TRAVIS LOLLER
Associated Press
