The 20th Execution of 2016
Ronald Bert Smith Jr. who killed an Alabama convenience
store clerk more than two decades ago was put to death on December 8, 2016 an
execution that required two consciousness tests as the inmate heaved and
coughed 13 minutes into the lethal injection, reported The Associated Press.
Smith was pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m., about 30 minutes
after the procedure began at the state prison in southwest Alabama.
Smith was convicted of capital murder in the Nov. 8, 1994,
fatal shooting of Huntsville store clerk Casey Wilson. A jury voted 7-5 to
recommend a sentence of life imprisonment, but a judge overrode that
recommendation and sentenced Smith to death.
Smith heaved and coughed repeatedly, clenching his fists and
raising his head at the beginning of the execution. A prison guard performed
two consciousness checks before the final two lethal drugs were administered.
In a consciousness test, a prison officer says the inmate's
name, brushes his eyelashes and then pinches his left arm. During the first
one, Smith moved his arm. He slightly raised his right arm again after the
second consciousness test.
The meaning of those movements will likely be debated. One
of Smith's attorneys whispered to another attorney, "He's reacting,"
and pointed out the inmate's repeated movements.
The state prison commissioner said he did not see any
reaction to the consciousness tests.
"We do know we followed our protocol. We are absolutely
convinced of that," Alabama Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn said
Thursday evening. "There will be an autopsy that will be done on Mr. Smith
and if there were any irregularities those will hopefully be shown or born out
in the autopsy. I think the question is probably better left to the medical
experts," Dunn said when asked if the movement's indicated the state's
process should be changed.
Alabama uses the sedative midazolam as the first drug in a
three-drug lethal injection combination. Smith and other inmates argued in a
court case that the drug was an unreliable sedative and could cause them to
feel pain, citing its use in problematic executions. The U.S. Supreme Court has
upheld the use of the drug.
Smith replied, "No ma'am" when asked by the prison
warden if he had any final words. A member of Wilson's family, who was not
identified, witnessed the execution. The victim's family did not make a
statement.
Wilson was pistol-whipped and then shot in the head during
the robbery, court documents show. Surveillance video showed Smith entering the
store and recovering spent shell casings from the bathroom where Wilson was
shot, according to the record.
In overriding the jury's recommendation at the 1995 trial, a
judge likened the slaying to an execution, saying Wilson had already been
pistol-whipped into submission and Smith ignored his pleas for mercy. Wilson
had a newborn infant at the time of his death.
"The trial court described Smith's acts as 'an
execution style slaying.' Tonight, justice was finally served," Alabama
Attorney General Luther Strange said in a statement after the execution.
U.S. Supreme Court justices twice paused the execution as
Smith's attorneys argued for a delay, saying a judge shouldn't have been able
to impose the death penalty when a jury recommended he receive life
imprisonment.
Four liberal justices said they would have halted the execution,
but five were needed to do so.
Smith's attorneys had urged the nation's highest court to
block the planned execution to review the judge's override.
Smith's lawyers argued a January decision that struck down
Florida's death penalty structure because it gave too much power to judges
raises legal questions about Alabama's process. In Alabama, a jury can
recommend a sentence of life without parole, but a judge can override that
recommendation to impose a death sentence. Alabama is the only state that allows
judicial override, they argued.
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