Tennessee prepares to execute Oscar Smith, 3 years after last-minute reprieve
May 20, 2025
Oscar Smith came within minutes of being executed before Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a surprise reprieve just over three years ago. It turned out there were problems with the lethal injection drugs that had been ongoing. The state now has a new execution process and is prepared to try again Thursday. Smith says his personal minister will be in the execution chamber praying for him. He’s grateful for that but also worried about her because “she doesn’t need any bad experiences.” The 75-year-old Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her sons, Jason and Chad, 13 and 16, at their Nashville, Tennessee, home in 1989.
