Oklahoma Begins 2024 Executions With Death Of Michael Dewayne Smith

Oklahoma returned to its state-sanctioned killing spree with the execution Thursday of a 41-year-old Black man, Michael Dewayne Smith.

Smith’s execution comes after Oklahoma resumed the death penalty in 2021, which had been on pause for nearly six years, and arranged the execution dates for 25 people. Its last execution was four months ago, on Nov. 30.

The lethal injection of Smith, who had been on death row for about 20 years, highlights the concerns about the overlap of the death penalty with issues of Blackness, drug use and intellectual disability.

According to media witnesses, Smith was pronounced dead at about 10:20 a.m. Central time.

Smith declined to provide his last words in the execution chamber, but he told HuffPost on Tuesday that he was innocent and that inconsistencies with his confession were not adequately addressed.

At the time, Smith said he was “staying in good spirits — for the most part” and was “good, given the circumstances.”

Rev. Jeff Hood, his spiritual adviser, told HuffPost that Smith was tearful minutes before and during the execution process. Hood added that a tear fell from Smith’s right eye after he appeared to be dead.

“What happened today was unnecessary. Oklahoma is going to be no different this afternoon than it was this morning. No safer,” Hood said. “The only thing that it’s going to be is less ethical.”

Before Smith’s Death Sentence

Smith had been linked to three murders. He was sentenced to death for the February 2002 killings of Janet Moore, 40, and Sharath Pulluru, 22, and had been sentenced to life in prison for the November 2001 killing of Otis Payne, 26.

Smith initially gave a confession in the deaths of Moore and Pulluru, but he has since said that he is innocent and can’t