‘OVERSIGHT’

Tennessee Pauses First Execution in Years After Injection Screwup

The lawyer for death row inmate Oscar Smith said the state mishandled the lethal injection drugs.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee stopped the state’s first execution in years on Thursday, citing an “oversight in preparations” for a death row inmate’s lethal injection. Oscar Smith, 72, was set to be executed Thursday night for the murder of his estranged wife and her two sons, but his lawyer told the Associated Press there was a “mishandling” of the lethal injection drugs that prevented the execution from going forward. “Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward tonight,” Lee said Thursday. “I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol.” The reprieve is in effect until June. The state plans to carry out five executions this year, matching its western neighbor Texas, which carried out an execution Thursday night.