A convicted double murderer made an unusual request for his last meal before being executed by lethal injection.
Michael Dewayne Smith was convicted of fatally shooting two women, Janet Moore, 41, and Sharath Pulluru, 22, in two separate incidents in February 2002. Jurors agreed he should be executed for both deaths.
According to prosecutors, the death row inmate - who was alleged to be a gang member - was 19 when he killed Moore because he was looking for her son, who he thought had given his identity to cops, per The Independent.
Later on the same day, prosecutors said Smith then shot Pulluru - who was working as a store clerk at A&Z Food Mart - because he believed she had disrespected his gang. She was then doused in lighter fluid and set on fire, per The Mirror.
The 41-year-old inmate, whose attorneys have claimed is intellectually disabled, had been in custody for 20 years.
At a clemency hearing last month, he broke into tears as he spoke about his innocence regarding the crimes, saying: "I didn’t commit these crimes. I didn’t kill these people...I was high on drugs. I don’t even remember getting arrested," he added. However, his clemency application was denied 4-1.
In another interview with The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network, Smith pleaded: "I don't want to die, man...Who can ever be prepared to die, man? I sure don't want to die for something I didn't do."
Smith made the rare decision to not request a final meal before his scheduled death on Thursday (April 4). When asked if he had any last words, he responded, "Nah, I'm good," according to the Associated Press.
The convict died within minutes of receiving the lethal injection, reporters who witnessed it at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester disclosed. He was pronounced dead at 10:20ET, the Department of Corrections confirmed, per BBC News.
The family of Moore released a statement declaring that "justice has been served" and thanking officers. "It does not go unnoticed or in vain, as we were constantly reminded this is justice for a loss that has caused a ripple for generations to come," the family wrote.
Sharath Babu Pulluru's family also said that Sharath "will forever live in our hearts".
Smith has become the first person to be put to death in Oklahoma this year. He's also the 12th inmate to be put to death since the state resumed executions in 2021.
He was also convicted at a separate trial of second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of a man outside an Oklahoma City club in November 2001. He had confessed to police that he handed the gun to the shooter.
Reverend Don Heath, Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty chair, made the following statement in response to the execution, describing Smith as a troubled and vulnerable young man with intellectual disabilities.
"He was ill-served by advisers who encouraged him to proclaim his innocence instead of accepting responsibility for his crimes. That cost him any chance for clemency," Heath said, per The Independent. "He needed mercy and forgiveness and got none."
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