Oklahoma: A 41-year-old man has been executed via lethal injection in Oklahoma, the US state's first execution of the year, for shooting and killing two people, including an Indian national in 2002. The convict was identified as Michael Dewayne Smith, who was executed at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester town, said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
Smith had been on death row for the murders of 24-year-old Indian store clerk Sharath Pulluru and 40-year-old Janet Moore in separate incidents on February 22, 2002. "I am grateful that justice has been served... I pray that today brings some measure of peace to the families of Janet Miller-Moore and Sharath Pulluru. It has been a long and difficult 22 years for their loved ones, and my heart aches over the agony they have endured," Drummond said after the execution.
"I want the people of Oklahoma to know that the victims of Michael Smith were good and decent people who did not deserve their fate. Sharath, a bright young man with a generous spirit, was the first in his family to come to the United States to pursue an education. He was fun to be around, was an inspiration to his family, and had a promising future," said the Oklahoma Attorney General.
What did the victims' families say?
Drummond added that the two were murdered because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Notably, Smith's murders were committed when he was 19 and after he was already on the run for a murder a year before. He is the 12th person to be executed in Oklahoma since the state resumed carrying out death penalties in 2021.
In a statement, the Pulluru family said, "Sharath was the life of our family. We are a very close family and his sudden death in such a violent manner has affected our families' lives every day since. He will forever live in our hearts. We are thankful justice was served today."
The family of Moore also released a statement declaring that "justice has been served" and thanking authorities for pursuing the punishment over the past 22 years. "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.
Smith's last words before execution
When asked if he had any last words, Smith responded, "Nah, I'm good," according to reports in the US. Before his execution, Smith said in a statement: "My life is on the line. Despite new evidence, my attorney Mark Henricksen has informed my family that he will be filing no further appeals on my behalf. I am releasing this statement to demand that Mr Henricksen do his job and fight for my life."
Notably, Oklahoma paused the death penalty in 2017 after two high-profile botched executions. The nearly seven-year hiatus came after a series of problems arose during executions. In 2014, a condemned prisoner writhed in apparent pain for 43 minutes before dying from a heart attack. The next year, a prisoner being executed told witnesses "It feels like acid" and "my body is on fire".
Oklahoma has executed 122 people since 1976, the highest number of executions per capita in the United States. The state plans to execute 25 prisoners whose appeals are exhausted in less than three years, about 58 per cent of the inmates on death row in Oklahoma, according to The Guardian.
(with PTI inputs)
ALSO READ | US: Birthday trip turns tragic for Andhra family, mother and 4-year-old daughter killed in accident
