The Tennessee Department of Corrections announced on Thursday that a man who had been sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of his wife and their two sons was put to death in the Volunteer State.
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In 1989, Smith’s estranged wife Judy Smith and her two boys, Chad and Jason Burnett, were shot and stabbed to death. Smith, 75, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on May 22, 2025.| AFP
This week, three death row inmates were executed by lethal injection in the United States. The latest of these was 75-year-old Oscar Smith.
The Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, announced Smith’s death at 10:47 am local time (1547 GMT).
In 1989, he was found guilty of killing his ex-wife Judy Smith, along with her two kids, Chad and Jason Burnett, by shooting and stabbing them.
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In a statement, Judy’s siblings Terri Osborne and Mike Robirds expressed that the loss of their sister and nephews “is something we will continue to carry.”
“This tragic event is a reflection of a societal problem that impacts numerous families in our country, and it is more than just a personal tragedy.”
The United States has carried out nineteen capital punishments so far this year, with fifteen carried out by lethal injection, two by firing squad, and two by nitrogen gas.
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Three states in the US have put moratoria on the death penalty: Pennsylvania, Oregon, and California, while 23 states have outright abolished it.
On his inaugural address, President Trump sought to increase the use of the death penalty “for the vilest crimes.” He is a strong supporter of the death penalty.