Media witness recounts execution of Oscar Smith
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Oscar Franklin Smith became the first man in five years to be executed in Tennessee on Thursday, and News 2's Tori Gessner was selected to witness it.
Smith was convicted of the 1989 murders of his estranged wife, Judy, and her two teenage sons, Chad and Jason, in Nashville.
The only hiccup during the execution was things got underway later than scheduled on Thursday, May 22 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.
The seven media witnesses were seated in the room where they would watch Smith be put to death 15 minutes behind schedule, at 10:16 a.m. Only permitted to have a pen and notebook issued by the Tennessee Department of Correction, journalists vigorously took notes of the sights and sounds they witnessed.
Oscar Smith executed in Tennessee Thursday
While the curtains to the death chamber were closed, Smith's spiritual advisor could be heard reading scriptures from the Bible. At 10:32 a.m., the curtains opened.
Smith could be seen lying on a table horizontally, wearing a yellow gown with a white sheet covering his lower body. He was strapped down, his hands were covered and secured with a beige wrap, and an IV was coming out of his right arm.
It's unclear when the pentobarbital, the single drug Tennessee selected in its new death penalty protocol, was injected. During he entire process, Smith's spiritual advisor prayed as two men dressed in black suits, also in the death chamber, watched on.
One man asked Smith if he had any last words. Smith replied, 'Yes.'
Tennessee's new death penalty protocol: What's different
His statement lasted multiple minutes and was critical of Gov. Bill Lee for not doing 'the right thing' and stopping his execution.
'Too many innocent people are being killed,' Smith said. 'If [he] ain't got no balls to do the right thing, quit being governor and walk away…our justice system is broke…That's what experts are for. The working man doesn't have that knowledge…more men are waiting to die at Riverbend…need a governor to know what his duties are…get a backbone…in the future.'
'I'll see you someday,' Smith told his spiritual advisor, who continued to pray.
'I didn't kill her,' Smith whispered.
At one point, his spiritual advisor mentioned the two teenage victims, Chad and Jason, by name.
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Smith never appeared to show any signs of distress and never made any sudden movements. His execution looked similar to someone falling asleep.
At 10:40 a.m., a blue-gloved hand popped out from a hole the wall behind Smith, and a rock was placed on the ledge.
At 10:44 a.m., it was difficult to tell if Smith's stomach was still rising and falling.
The curtains closed at 10:45 a.m. An official's voice came over the loud speaker and announced Smith's time of death was 10:47 a.m.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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