Convicted of killing his wife in her sons in the late 80s, Oscar Smith Franklin has had a wild ride through the penal system.

This Death Row Inmate has Avoided Execution Three Times | Oscar Franklin Smith — Source

Oscar Franklin Smith was set to be executed on April 21st, 2022 at 7 pm. By an odd twist of fate, he was spared, at least momentarily–and not for the first time. Executions for death row inmates in Tennessee have temporarily been paused due to an “oversight” involving the drug cocktail used for lethal injection.

Smith was convicted in 1990 of killing his wife and her two sons. The jury sentenced him to death. He still maintains his innocence to this day.

On October 1st, 1989, Judy Robird Smith, Oscar Smith’s estranged wife, was shot in the neck and stabbed several times.

Chad Burnett, one of Judy’s sons from a previous marriage, was shot three times. He was shot in the left eye, the upper chest, and the left torso. He was 16 years old at the time of his death.

Jason Burnett, Judy’s 13-year-old son, was stabbed in the neck and abdomen.

Chad was found in the kitchen while Judy’s body was found in the bedroom.

The knife and gun were never found. The awl, a stitching tool that punctures holes in materials, was found at the scene and believed to be one of the murder weapons.

At the time, Smith was separated from Judy. The couple had a set of three-year-old twins together.

Smith’s co-workers claimed that he had threatened to kill Judy on multiple occasions, as many as twelve times just between June and August of 1989. He had supposedly also threatened to kill both Chad and Jason. It is claimed that he threatened to do so because he believed that Judy treated the two older boys better than their twins.

This is not the only evidence against Smith. During the attacks, the family tried to call the police. During the call, Chad could be heard screaming “Frank, no!”

Crime Scene investigators testified that they had found a bloody palm print on the bedsheet next to Judy’s body. The palm print was missing the same two fingers that Smith is missing. A fingerprint expert hired by Smith claimed that there were numerous errors made by the investigator and therefore there could not be a definitive identity attached to the print.

Smith was originally scheduled to be executed in June 2020 and February 2021. Both of these were postponed due to Covid. His third execution date was set for April 21st of 2022. Due to joining a lawsuit arguing that lethal injunction amounts to state-sanctioned torture, his execution has been postponed for the third time.

Before his previously set execution date, Smith filed a motion to reopen his case due to new DNA evidence found on a murder weapon.

“DNA evidence shows that an unknown assailant, not Mr. Smith, used the bloody murder weapon found at the crime scene to murder Mr. Smith’s family,” said Smith’s public defender, Amy D. Harwell.

A new analysis of a palm print found on the murder weapon supposedly does not belong to Smith.

His request was denied, however. He went on to ask the Tennessee Supreme Court to vacate his execution date. The Tennessee Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal and his request to vacate his execution.

While Smith has continued to claim he is innocent over the past several decades, the lead investigator on the Smith case would disagree. Hendersonville Police Chief Mickey Miller claims that during his interview with Smith after the murders, Smith lacked any emotion or sympathy for his dead wife and her sons.

It is unclear when Tennesse will resume death row executions. Will Oscar Franklin Smith escape the death penalty for the fourth time? Will any new evidence exonerate Smith?

This Death Row Inmate has Avoided Execution Three Times | Oscar Franklin Smith