Entries tagged with “Oscar Smith”
Executions
Executions Overview
,Botched Executions
,Lethal Injection
,Jan 17, 2023
Tennessee Gov. Says No Death Warrants Until Execution Protocol Problems Fixed
Tennessee will not resume executions until it fixes systemic problems with the administration of its execution protocol, Governor Bill Lee has announced. “It’s a very important issue that has to be done correctly,” Lee told reporters on January 5, 2023. “And we will take the time to fix the protocol and to make certain that we don’t move forward until everything’s in…
Executions
Lethal Injection
,Jan 04, 2023
Report: Tennessee Repeatedly Violated Execution Protocol Since 2018
An independent investigation into Tennessee’s execution practices has found that the state repeatedly failed to follow its own protocols in performing seven executions and preparing for an eighth between 2018 and 2022. Governor Bill Lee (pictured) commissioned the investigation in May 2022, shortly after he called off the execution of Oscar Smith “[d]ue to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection.” The report, which was publicly released on December…
Executions
Executions Overview
,Lethal Injection
,Jun 23, 2022
Tennessee Executions Could Be on Hold for Years Following Independent Investigation, Anticipated Court Challenges
Tennessee executions could be on hold for years, as the state conducts an independent investigation into widespread non-compliance with its execution protocol and litigates the constitutionality of revisions expected to be made to its execution procedures. The anticipated delay, first reported by the Associated Press June 13, 2022, is a likely by-product of a decision by Governor Bill Lee to cancel all executions scheduled in the state for the remainder of…
Policy Issues
Secrecy
,Botched Executions
,Lethal Injection
,Jun 03, 2022
Court Documents Reveal Widespread Irregularities in Tennessee Executions
Court records from a lawsuit brought by Tennessee death-row prisoners have revealed widespread irregularities in the state’s execution…
Executions
Lethal Injection
,May 17, 2022
Fallout From Aborted Tennessee Execution: Prosecutors Misrepresented Facts in Federal Lawsuit, 2 Members of Execution Team Knew Drugs Had Not Been Tested
The fallout following Tennessee’s aborted attempt to execute Oscar Smith on April 21, 2022 continues to grow, as state prosecutors disclosed that their pleadings had misrepresented facts in a federal lethal injection lawsuit and public records revealed that at least two members of the execution team knew the day before Smith was to be executed that the drugs purchased to put Smith to death had not been properly…
Policy Issues
Secrecy
,Upcoming Executions
,May 03, 2022
Tennessee Governor Halts Executions Scheduled for 2022 to Conduct Review of Execution Protocol ‘Oversight’
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (pictured) has paused all executions scheduled for 2022 and called for an “independent review” of the state’s execution protocol to address a “technical oversight” that led him to halt Oscar Franklin Smith’s execution less than a half-hour before it was scheduled to be carried out on April 21,…
Executions
Time on Death Row
,Apr 22, 2022
One Execution, One Reprieve: Scheduled Executions of Oldest Death-Row Prisoners in Texas and Tennessee Illustrate Aging of Death Row
In a coincidence that brought attention to the aging of death row across the United States, the oldest death-row prisoners in Tennessee and Texas faced execution in their respective states on April 21, 2022. After the U.S. Supreme Court denied stays of execution for both prisoners, their cases took different…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Upcoming Executions
,Lethal Injection
,Apr 13, 2022
Tennessee Trial Court Denies Motion to Halt Upcoming Execution Based on New DNA Evidence
A Nashville trial judge has denied a Tennessee death-row prisoner’s motion to reopen his case and halt his scheduled April 21, 2022 execution in light of new DNA…
Executions
Upcoming Executions
,Mar 05, 2022
Tennessee Sets Three Execution Dates for Most-in-Nation 5 Pending Executions in 2022
The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued death warrants setting execution dates for three prisoners, bringing to five — the nation’s‑high — the number of executions pending in the state in 2022. On February 22, 2022, the court set execution dates of August 18 for Byron Black, October 6 for Gary Sutton, and December 8 for Donald Middlebrooks. The court had previously set execution dates of April 21 for Oscar…
Executions
Upcoming Executions
,Apr 27, 2020
Texas Court Issues Nation’s Seventh Coronavirus Stay of Execution
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed the May 6, 2020 execution of Edward Busby (pictured) for sixty days. Busby’s was the nation’s seventh execution postponed in the United States because of the coronavirus and the sixth in…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Representation
,Upcoming Executions
,Apr 17, 2020
Tennessee Supreme Court Stays Prisoner’s Execution Because of Investigative Time Lost to Pandemic
The Tennessee Supreme Court has stayed the June 4, 2020 execution of death-row prisoner Oscar Franklin Smith (pictured) and rescheduled his execution for February 4, 2021. The order, issued on April 17, 2020, granted a stay request filed by Smith’s lawyers, who had sought a postponement on the grounds that, because of the coronavirus pandemic, they had lost “critical time” for investigation in the…
Executions
Upcoming Executions
,Mar 27, 2020
Coronavirus Pandemic Halts Executions, Perhaps for the Foreseeable Future
The public health crisis from the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has halted executions in the United States and, legal experts say, is likely to continue to do for the foreseeable…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Intellectual Disability
,Mental Illness
,Upcoming Executions
,Feb 26, 2020
Tennessee Sets Execution Dates for Two Men With Issues of Innocence, Intellectual Disability, and Competency
Tennessee has set two more execution dates for 2020, directed, advocates say, at men whose cases present unresolved issues of innocence, intellectual disability, and mental…
Executions
Upcoming Executions
,Lethal Injection
,Feb 18, 2020
As Execution Dates Approach, Tennessee Prisoners Challenge Execution Method
Tennessee has scheduled three upcoming executions, despite ongoing litigation surrounding the use of its lethal injection protocol and problems with its lethal-injection drugs that have led five prisoners to opt for death by electrocution. Attorneys for five other death-row prisoners, including Oscar Smith, who has an execution date of June 4, 2020, have filed a federal suit presenting new evidence challenging the state’s execution…