I’m angrier than a three-peckered billy goat in a hot pepper patch over this next one. It really frosts my cupcakes when people speak out in opposition to the death penalty. Every time an execution date comes up, you find on X no shortage of bleeding-heart liberals defending death row inmates. Even when the condemned murdered people, including children, people still wring their hands and cry out for the death penalty to end. It’s enough to make anyone sick!
So it is with one Michael DeWayne Smith, who was convicted of slaughtering two innocent victims back in 2002. Having exhausted almost all of his appeals, Smith has the dubious distinction of being Oklahoma’s first execution of the year, something that gives my cold, black heart great joy. His reckoning will come tomorrow. The little coward tried every trick in the book to tap dance out of accountability, but his lawyers have failed and they failed hard.
When I saw Smith’s name pop up in my tweets at the hands of death penalty profiles, I knew he was black even before I clicked on any news stories. Big surprise: he is black. Gee, how did I know?
After first trying to do the right thing and accept responsibility, he backpedaled and blamed drugs, just like a little wimp would do. Anyway, you’ll find plenty of tweets begging for mercy, even though Smith showed his two victims no such thing.
As far as appeals go, he has gone through every appeals court in Oklahoma and he has been turned away at every cowardly turn. Sadly, the little you-know-what can appeal to the United States Supreme Court, but if the past few death penalty begs are any indication, he’s toast as well he should be.
To give you an idea of how much authorities have bought into Smith’s claims, keep in mind that the Oklahoma Pardon Parole Board voted 4-1 to deny recommending clemency for the pathetic little killer. They got it right. Fox 23 also reported that Smith had this to say to his heartbroken victims’ families: He sent his “deepest apologies and deepest sorrows to the families.” His own statement damned him; innocent people don’t apologize for slaughtering people. All Smith accomplished is that he, by his own words, exposed himself as a murdering scumbag.
The prosecutors played video of yet another admission by Smith. “I didn’t come there to kill that woman. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said. Wrong place, wrong time, eh? Sounds like something a guilty person would say.
About those tweets, there are plenty to read if you’re into opposing the death penalty. A woman who goes by the name of Mary Seymour had this to say:
“It’s been happening for so long we think it’s normal.
It’s always been cruel and unusual and will never be humane! A murder for a murder makes us murderers!
Michael Dewayne Smith, 41 [sic]
Scheduled for murder by lethal injection…in Oklahoma.
Honor life!”
Now, did Smith honor his victims’ lives? Of course not, so he must experience the same fate as his victims: sudden death.
“There’s only one more day before the state of Oklahoma executes intellectually disabled #MichaelDewayneSmith.”
Gee, he wasn’t intellectually disabled enough to murder two people. And every court up to this point hasn’t bought that argument. I don’t think the Supreme Court will buy it either. As another last-ditch effort, Smith’s supporters, who condone what he did by virtue of supporting him, prepared a petition to the state’s governor. This happens all the time; people tweet, call and harass governors, none of whom in recent years have fallen for it.
In yet another attempt to let Smith wiggle out of accountability, a private investigator has apparently claimed that he’s found “new evidence” in the case. How convenient. The PI waited until appeals ran out to come out with this supposed evidence. Even if the evidence were true and Smith didn’t do it, he was the one who was convicted, so he pays the price regardless. That, gentle reader, is true justice.
Indeed, a PI with Keefe Private Investigators has only now slithered out from under the rock that she’s been hiding under. She claims that there are a “whole slew of problems.” She attempts to point out that a witness supposedly felt intimidated into not testifying. So? All that matters is that she did testify.
KOCO, a local television station, has reported that Smith’s family feels that there is “key evidence” in support of calling off the execution. Where was this imaginary “evidence” at trial? Where was it at appeals? That’s right, the “key evidence” doesn’t exist. They’re just looking to buy more time before he catches the needle. It’s a futile effort on the part of his scumbag family.
Nicole Smith, the convicted murderer’s sister-in-law, begged the governor to “have a heart.” A heart, you say? Did Smith have a heart when he unalived his victims? He didn’t show them he has a heart, so no one should have a heart for him. It’s just that simple.
The Oklahoma Attorney General has weighed in, pointing out that the “ruthless killer” has admitted to doing the crimes “on multiple occasions.” If Smith didn’t do it, then why did he confess? Innocent people do not confess.
Even if some crazy scenario emerges where Smith’s murder convictions are overturned at the last minute, he’s already serving a life sentence for a 2004 murder. Either way, he’s not coming out of prison alive, and that is as it should be.
Yes, folks, barring the Supreme Court being naive, Smith will draw his last breath tomorrow and will die by lethal injection. Now, I should be fair here and say that I am Catholic, and the Church strongly opposes the death penalty. So this is an awkward moment where I am at odds with my beloved religion.
Pope John Paul II said in 1999 that, “I renew the appeal I made . . . for a consensus to end the death penalty, which is both cruel and unnecessary.” You mean like the cruel and unnecessary deaths of his victims, Your Holiness?
“Twenty-five years ago, our Conference of bishops first called for an end
to the death penalty. We renew this call to seize a new moment and new
momentum. This is a time to teach clearly, encourage reflection, and
call for common action in the Catholic community to bring about an end
to the use of the death penalty in our land.”
—United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death
It’s sad that people who govern the Church that Christ Himself founded would oppose justice.
But that’s not all from the USCBB:
“Each of us is called to respect the life and dignity of every human
being. Even when people deny the dignity of others, we must still
recognize that their dignity is a gift from God and is not something
that is earned or lost through their behavior. Respect for life applies
to all, even the perpetrators of terrible acts. Punishment should be
consistent with the demands of justice and with respect for human life
and dignity.
—USCCB, A Culture of Life and the Penalty of Death.”
Gee, you mean like the time that Smith respected the life and dignity of his victims? That respect and dignity?
One website, that explores “Catholic justice,” states that the death penalty, “has long been an issue contested amongst Catholics.” Indeed. On and on it goes, stating that “[the] dignity of each human is sacred, and remains intact “even after the commission of very serious crimes.” You don’t say. Where was the “dignity” that Smith took away from his hapless victims?
I could go on and on here, and I already have, but I obviously feel that the death penalty brings justice to a victim’s family and justice to the country at large. By permanently ending a murderer’s life, we send a message to other would-be killers.
Tomorrow, Smith will face the ultimate punishment, and at that time, his victims’ families will finally and forever enjoy justice. And I will be following the tweets so I can see the moment that his death is announced.