Oklahoma is set to execute a death row inmate on Thursday morning, even as the condemned man maintains his innocence in two 2002 murders.
"I pray to God, if I continue to be denied this [appeal], no matter if I get executed or not, this fight will continue with my family," Michael Smith told NewsNation on Wednesday.
Smith, 41, was convicted of murdering 40-year-old Janet Moore and 24-year-old Sharath Babu Pulluru in one late February day. Smith initially said that he shot Moore while searching for her son, whom he wrongfully believed was a snitch. Moore panicked and screamed for help, prompting the attack.
Later that same day, Pulluru was shot nine times before being soaked with lighter fluid and set on fire. Smith incorrectly believed that Pulluru had made comments to an Oklahoma newspaper about a gang-related shooting two years prior, KOSU reported.
Even before the killings, Smith was already a fugitive because of his role in a 2001 nightclub shooting. He was convicted of handing a gun to David Burns who then shot and killed Otis Payne.
Though Smith initially confessed to killing Moore and Pulluru, he subsequently claimed that he was innocent and made the confessions while high on PCP.
"Despite the conviction there are numerous inconsistencies and irregularities in my case, from representation issues in my trial and questionable interrogation process," Smith told KFOR. "I'm sorry for [the victim's families'] loss, and I'm not the person that killed their family members."
Smith's family believes he had inadequate legal counsel - arguing that his attorneys should've told the courts that he was mentally unfit to stand trial. They've further argued that the state failed to test DNA evidence that might have called Smith's involvement into question, KFOR reported.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied Smith clemency in March, with just one member of a five-person panel voting in his favor.
"Michael Smith's outrageous claims of innocence have been repeatedly rejected in court," Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement. "He is a ruthless killer who has confessed to his crimes on multiple occasions. There is no doubt in my mind that his request for clemency should be denied."
Smith will be the fourth person and first Oklahoman executed in 2024, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The death penalty is banned in 23 states and the District of Columbia, while six other states have gubernatorial holds that prevent executions. In 2023, only five states - Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama and Florida - carried out executions.
