The oldest man in Tennessee on
death row is scheduled to be
executed tonight in Nashville,
72 year old Oscar Smith is on death watch
at Riverbend Maximum Security Institute.
His execution was delayed
two years due to COVID.
He was originally sentenced
to die on June 4th of 2020.
Now some background Smith was
convicted for the 1989 murders of
his estranged wife, Judy Smith,
and her two sons from a previous marriage.
Chad and Jason Burnett.
He was sentenced to death for
all three killings.
Smith is once again set to
die by lethal injection.
My colleague John North and I
were actually out of an execution
several years back in 2018.
The most recent 1.
The execution of Billy Ray
Irick from East Tennessee.
John,
let's talk about lethal
injection versus electrocution.
Some inmates on death row actually
have that choice as to how they want
to die between those two options.
They do Robin and some think that
the worst of those too if you will.
If you can believe it.
Of lethal injection,
they've argued for several years,
and it's still an ongoing argument in the
courts that lethal injection, by the way,
that the state of Tennessee does.
It creates great pain and suffering for the
inmate as they're put under by the sedative.
They they contend that it creates
a kind of a drowning sensation.
The inmate can't convey that,
but while they're sedated,
they are essentially drowning
in their own fluids,
and they're from their lungs.
Nicholas Sutton, the last person
to be executed in Tennessee. He
died by electrocution.
He chose, he chose the electric chair,
which is again I was at that one as well.
And you know that is one that many states
in the United States have said no,
that is cruel and unusual.
That is not OK, but it is an
option in the state of Tennessee
when it comes to executions.
John, it's a very strict process.
Truly over the course of
three days walk us through
those. It's very, very choreographed.
That's for multiple reasons,
legal and otherwise,
as you mentioned.
Inmate is moved from the main prison.
Their Riverbend in Nashville.
They then go to close to the
execution chamber to a special cell.
They stay there three days.
They're given the option of something like.
Do you want a last meal and
what would you like it to be?
There's a dollar amount set there
used to be a local fast food
restaurant where some of the inmates
would order their food and then we
come to this day execution day and
there is a specific time in which
all of this begins to take place.
And it's very by the book.
It is very choreographed.
As I said and they stick to that timetable,
it is a very somber day as we know
from 2018, with Billy Ray Irick,
it's extremely somber.
I mean, out at Riverbend,
it's often remote by itself,
but this has always struck me
in the two that I have been to,
there's a kind of a hush or a quiet
that descends on the prison grounds,
and then when you go inside and
you're interacting with the guards
and the other personnel, you're like,
you know that this is an extremely
serious matter and it's very quiet
indeed, it is well.
Oscar Smith is set to be the first
person to be executed in Tennessee
since the start of the pandemic.
Currently there are 47 inmates
on Tennessee death row,
a total of five executions
scheduled for this year.
John, a convicted murderer
from Blunt County,
said to be executed in October.
That's right, Gary Wayne Sutton
that's coming up in October.
WBR will seek to be present for
that one that was actually he was
convicted out of Blunt County,
but there were two homicides
involved in that one.
Alright, well, Oscar Smith and other
death row. Inmates are granted.
As you said, John, a special meal
on the day of their execution.
They can opt out of that
last meal if they so choose.
Limitations for last meals differ.
State to state. For example, in Florida,
last meals cannot exceed $40 and the
requested food must be available locally.
We are told. Oscar Smith selected
a double bacon cheeseburger.
Deep dish apple pie and vanilla
bean ice cream as his last meal.
Once again, Oscar Smith set to die.
By lethal injection shortly after 8:00
o'clock tonight at Riverbend maximum
security prison for the 1989 murders
of his estranged wife and her two sons,
we will have much more coverage
on the execution.
Coming up tonight on the night beat John
Robin, John thank you.