Tennessee’s governor on Thursday called off what was to have been the state’s first execution since the start of the pandemic, granting a temporary reprieve to the oldest inmate on death row for what was called an “oversight” in preparations for the lethal injection.
Republican Gov. Bill Lee didn’t elaborate on what issue forced the surprise 11th-hour stop to the planned execution of 72-year-old Oscar Smith. The inmate was to have received a three-drug injection only a short while later in the evening at a Nashville maximum security prison.
“Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward tonight. I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol,” Lee said in a statement on Thursday evening. “Further details will be released when they are available.”
Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward tonight. I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol. Further details will be released when available.
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) April 21, 2022
Smith was convicted of the 1989 killings of his estranged wife and her teenage sons. Shortly before the governor’s surprise announcement, the U.S. Supreme Court had denied a last-hour bid by Smith’s attorneys seeking to block the execution plan.
Dorinda Carter, a Department of Correction spokesperson, said the state Supreme Court would need to reschedule the execution. She said Smith would be removed from death watch and returned to his cell on death row. She declined to provide any more information and referred questions to the governor’s office.
It was to have been Tennessee’s first execution since the start of the pandemic.
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