Tennessee death row inmate seeks to halt execution next week over DNA evidence

Oscar Smith, 71, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on 21 April

Tennessee death row inmate Oscar Smith, 71, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection April 21 (Tennessee Department of Corrections)

A Tennessee death row inmate asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to vacate his execution date so that an appeals court could review new evidence in his case.

Oscar Smith, 71, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on 21 April. He was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her sons Jason and Chad Burnett, 13 and 16, at their Nashville home on 1 October 1989.

Smith has maintained that he is innocent.

Earlier this month, Smith asked the Davidson County Criminal Court to reopen his case after a new type of DNA analysis found the DNA of an unknown person on one of the murder weapons.

The judge denied that request as well as a second request to reconsider, writing that the evidence of Smith’s guilt was extensive. Smith has appealed to the Criminal Court of Appeals and asked for an expedited hearing.

In a Thursday motion, Smith’s attorneys asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to halt Smith’s execution so that the Appeals Court could have time to fully consider the new evidence. They argue that the Criminal Court judge incorrectly applied the law when it denied Smith’s request to reopen his case.

Smith previously sought to prove that fingerprint evidence used against him was unreliable.

In Thursday’s motion, Smith’s attorneys argued the combination of a fingerprint and DNA from an unknown person on one of the murder weapons should be considered together as strong proof of his innocence.

The Independent and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to death penalty in the US. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty - with The Independent as the latest on the list. We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage.