Triple murderer in Tennessee executed: one last meal full of bitterness

Triple murderer in Tennessee executed: one last meal full of bitterness

Nashville, Tennessee, USA - Oscar Frank Smith was executed on May 23, 2025 in the US state of Tennessee by poison injection. The execution took place in the high security prison in Nashville, where Smith was declared dead at 10:47 a.m. (local time). The 75-year-old was convicted since 1990 after he was said to have murdered his wife and two sons in October 1989 by stabbed and shot. Despite his conviction and the evidence that spoke against him, Smith assured his innocence throughout his life.

In 2022, an application for the proceedings were rejected, although DNA was found on one of the weapons to an unknown person. The judge found that the new evidence was not sufficient in favor of the prisoner. Smith's last meal consisted of hot dogs, potato buffers and apple pie with vanilla ice cream. His last words were: "Someone has to tell the governor that the judicial system doesn't work." And "I didn't kill her."

execution after a long standstill

This execution marked the first in Tennessee in five years because the death penalty in several states of the United States is no longer executed. Currently, the death penalty in more than two dozen of the 50 states is permitted, but there is still an increasing number of cases in which executions have failed. In addition to Tennessee, executions have recently been held in Texas and Indiana, where a 49-year-old and a 45-year-old were recently executed.

In the United States there is a complex landscape of the death penalty. According to information from Wikipedia, there is a ban on the death penalty in 23 out of 50 states as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, while the last abolition in Virginia took place in March 2021. Federal courts have the opportunity to impose the death penalty in cases of nationwide crimes, even in states where this is no longer used.

permanent controversy about the death penalty

The application of the death penalty is always the subject of public debates and legal disputes. The number of executions has decreased, especially in recent years. In 2023, for example, the death penalty was imposed against Robert Bowers, the assassin of Pittsburgh 2018. In 2015, only 28 people were executed in the United States, which is the lowest number since 1991.

The last executions in the USA often took place through fatal injections, while in some states there are considerations to reintroduce older types of execution, such as the electric chair or shooting command. Texas has carried out most of the executions since 1976, while some states, including Virginia and Illinois, have now abolished the death penalty.

The debate about the death penalty remains highly up to date, especially in view of the complexity of the legal framework and the ethical questions associated with these judgments. While Oscar Frank Smith spoke his ultimate words and pointed out the shortcomings of the judicial system, the discussion about justice and the correct application of the death penalty in the USA remains unresolved

For further details about the implementation of the death penalty and its controversy, read OE24 Initiative against the death penalty and wikipedia .