TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Mar 18, 2020

Attorneys for death row prisoner Oscar Smith have asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to delay his June 4 execution because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nashville Scene reports. The motion cites extraordinary disruptions to society, the court system and the legal team’s work in asking that the court delay the date for six months. Smith was sentenced to death in Nashville for the 1989 murders of his estranged wife, Judy Smith, and her two sons. The request comes after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals stayed an execution set for this week in light of the public health crisis.