New Tennessee Policy to Isolate Prisoners Before Execution Described as “Its Own Form of Torture” | Death Penalty Information Center

New Tennessee Policy to Isolate Prisoners Before Execution Described as “Its Own Form of Torture” | Death Penalty Information Center

In a change from pre­vi­ous pol­i­cy and prac­tice, Oscar Smith spent the last two weeks of his life in strict iso­la­tion, sep­a­rat­ed from oth­ers on death row, sur­veilled 24 hours a day, and only per­mit­ted vis­its by his attor­neys and spir­i­tu­al advi­sor. On May 15, the *Nashville Banner* detailed Tennessee’s new pol­i­cy to iso­late Mr. Smith imme­di­ate­ly before his exe­cu­tion. In com­ments to the *Banner*, Kelley Henry, one of Mr.…

Tennessee carries out first execution since 2020, killing Oscar Smith by lethal injection

Oscar Franklin Smith was executed by the state Thursday, May 22, nearly 35 years after a Nashville jury convicted him for the 1989 murders of his estranged wife, Judy Smith, and her two teenage sons, Chad and Jason Burnett. His…