Oscar Franklin Smith, a Tennessee death row inmate, is scheduled for execution by lethal injection for the brutal 1989 murders of his estranged wife, 35-year-old Judith Robirds Smith, and her two sons.
According to court records, Smith had a history of threats and abuse toward his estranged wife. Just a month before the murders, he tied her up, raped her, and threatened to kill her. Retired Metro Nashville Police Detective Pat Postiglione, who worked on the case, described it simply: “True evil exists.”
Smith, now 75, is facing execution for the killings of Judith and her sons, 13-year-old Jason Burnett and 16-year-old Chad Burnett. The three were found murdered in their Nashville home.
“The boys were brutalized,” Postiglione told The Tennessean in 2022. “True evil exists.”
Smith’s attorney, Kelley Henry, told USA TODAY that Smith has always claimed innocence. She also said the last two weeks have been especially hard on him after corrections officials placed him in a small cell near the execution chamber.
“This type of isolation is incredibly traumatizing. It is also unnecessary,” Henry said. “There has never been an instance of difficulty on Tennessee’s death row in the two weeks prior to execution.”
As Smith’s execution nears, attention turns back to the horrific crime, the victims, and the man behind the murders.
What Was Oscar Franklin Smith Convicted Of?
On the night of October 1, 1989, 13-year-old Jason Burnett made a desperate 911 call. He screamed, “Help me!” while his brother’s voice could be heard in the background, pleading, “Frank, no! God help me,” court records show.
When police responded, they saw nothing out of the ordinary and assumed the call was a false alarm. But inside, Jason, Chad, and their mother had already been murdered. Fifteen hours later, an 8-year-old relative discovered their bodies. All three had their throats slashed from ear to ear.
Judith also suffered a gunshot wound to her left arm and neck, and multiple stab wounds. Jason, an eighth grader, was found beside his mother’s bed. Chad, a high school sophomore, was lying in a pool of blood in the kitchen. He had been shot in the eye, chest, and shoulder, and stabbed with both a needle-like object and a knife.
Police questioned Smith the next day. His reaction to the news of the murders raised suspicions.
“When they told him, he showed no emotion,” said former Davidson County Deputy District Attorney Tom Thurman.
What Led Up to the Murders?
Court records reveal a disturbing pattern of threats and abuse. Smith had repeatedly threatened Judith, including phone calls to her workplace, the Waffle House, and even warnings to her father that he would kill her.
“Smith told Judy’s father, ‘You tell Judy that I’ve been playing with her with kid gloves, but now the gloves are coming off.’”
Prosecutors also noted that Smith had offered money to anyone willing to kill Judith.
Smith had two teenage children from a prior marriage, while Judith’s sons, Chad and Jason, were from hers. The couple married in 1985 and had twin boys, but separated in 1989 and fought over custody.
Judith’s sister, Teresa Zastrow, and her father, Don Robirds, both shared signs of past abuse. Robirds recalled a chilling moment when Judith asked him and his wife to sign a note verifying where she had been, just to feel safe going home.
“That was the only real clue that Judy had ever given us,” he said.
Smith Seeks to Avoid the Death Penalty
As the oldest inmate on Tennessee’s death row, Smith has faced three previous execution dates, each delayed. If carried out this time, he would be the first person executed in Tennessee since 2020 and the 19th executed in the U.S. this year.
In 2022, his execution was halted just an hour before it was to occur due to a protocol error. Governor Bill Lee granted a temporary reprieve, which led to a three-year moratorium on executions and a review of the lethal injection protocol.
Now that the moratorium has ended, Smith is first in line for execution under the state’s new protocol. However, he and eight other inmates filed a lawsuit challenging the new procedure, arguing it increases the risk of a torturous death.
“We have genuine and well-founded concerns that the new protocol − which contains even fewer safeguards than the last − will cause our clients to experience the terror, pain, and suffering that comes from the act of poisoning called for in the protocol,” attorney Amy Harwell stated in a letter to Gov. Lee.
Harwell warned that pentobarbital, the drug used in executions, may cause prolonged suffering, potentially leaving the inmate aware and in agony for up to 20 minutes — what she described as “chemical waterboarding.”
Despite those concerns, state officials argue the method is constitutional and effective.
On Tuesday, Gov. Lee denied Smith’s clemency request, clearing the way for his execution to proceed.
