Middle Tennessee’s federal public defender is asking Gov. Bill Lee to halt all executions until an independent group can review the state’s protocols. The defense attorneys sent a letter to the governor Thursday morning, one week after he granted a last-minute reprieve for Oscar Smith.
Tennessee governor postpones first scheduled execution since the pandemic, citing concerns about lethal injection protocol
Oscar Smith was not killed by the state of Tennessee as planned Thursday night.
Gov. Bill Lee granted Smith a temporary reprieve barely an hour before the execution was scheduled to take place, citing “an oversight in preparation for lethal injection.”
Oscar Smith and Tennessee’s history of capital punishment
Update: About 15 minutes before Oscar Smith was scheduled to be executed, Gov. Bill Lee released this statement: “Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward tonight. I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol. Further details will […]
A man on Tennessee’s death row tells the courts he would rather face a firing squad than lethal injection
Oscar Smith’s attorneys think lethal injection is cruel and unusual. But he doesn’t want to choose the electric chair, either. Instead, they’re asking for an alternative: firing squad.
New DNA testing casts doubt on triple murder conviction that landed a man on death row, attorneys say
Attorneys have filed a last-minute plea to reopen a death penalty case before their client’s scheduled execution later this month at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.
A Tennessee man has been spared from execution, yet his attorneys still want to prove his innocence
When Pervis Payne walked into a Memphis courtroom on Tuesday morning, he hugged his attorney and sobbed.
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