Haunting final words of death row's oldest inmate seconds before his execution

Tennessee’s oldest death row inmate shared haunting final words just seconds before he wasexecuted earlier this year.

Oscar Franklin Smith, 75, was killed bylethal injection on Thursday, 22 May. He had been sentenced to death by a Davidson County in July 1990 - after a jury convicted him of murdering his estranged wife and her two teenage sons.

In a gruesome attack, he stabbed and shot his wife, Judith Smith, along with her children, Jason Burnett, 13, and Chad Burnett, 16, at their Nashville home on 1 October 1989, reportsLadbible. Judith, who also had two children - twins with Smith, had recently separated from him shortly before the grisly killings.

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Smith, who had reportedly taken out life insurance policies on all three victims, pleaded not guilty in court despite the huge amount of evidence against him. Two of his colleagues testified that he had solicited them to kill Judith and that he had repeatedly made threats to harm her and her sons.

During the attack, Judith and her terrified sons attempted to call the police and alert authorities. Prosecutors said one of the children could be heard in the background of the 911 call screaming, "Frank, no!"

The court also heard how the boys acted as "heroes," dying while defending each other and their mother.

The former machinist never wavered in his claims of innocence. Throughout his incarceration at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, right up until the day he died.

The 75-year-old was executed after eating hot dogs, tater tots, and apple pie with vanilla ice cream for his final meal, Tennessee Department of Corrections spokesperson Dorinda Carter told The Tennessean.

Before the execution, Smith delivered a lengthy statement criticising the government, the legal system, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee - who had previously halted Smith’s scheduled execution in 2022 at the last minute.

USA Todayreported that before his death, defiant Smith said: "Somebody needs to tell the governor the justice system doesn’t work. Too many of us are being killed for someone else’s deeds."

As he began to lose consciousness, he reportedly uttered: "I didn’t kill her, I didn’t kill her," referring to his estranged wife, Judith.

Smith’s spiritual advisor was present for his final moments and sang 'I’ll Fly Away' while praying. His attorney, Amy Harwell, described him as a "beloved child of God" and said she was "honoured" to have represented him.

The relatives of Judith, Jason, and Chad said afterwards that they "continue to carry the pain" of losing them.

"There’s not a moment that goes by that we don’t miss them. I miss the sound of Judy’s voice - I know my brother does as well - on the other end of the phone," said Judith’s sister, Teresa Osborne.

"We miss the excitement of planning Chad’s driving lessons, and we miss the pure joy of hearing Jason’s laughter. These are memories and wounds that will never fully heal."

Judith’s brother, Mike Robirds, added: "No one should have to live in fear like our sister did. No family should have to endure a loss like ours."