A prisoner in Alabama was put to death Thursday by lethal injection after months of delay.
Willie Smith, 52, was sentenced to death for the 1991 slaying of 22-year-old Sharma Johnson, whom Smith abducted and shot in the head at a cemetery, according to authorities.
“The family of Sharma Johnson has had to wait 29 years, 11 months, and 25 days to see the sentence of Sharma’s murderer be carried out,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said. “Finally, the cruel and unusual punishment that has been inflicted upon them — a decadeslong denial of justice — has come to an end.”
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Smith’s execution was initially scheduled for February, but it was delayed after Smith successfully appealed a decision that prevented his pastor from being there.
Attorney General Steve Marshall Statement on the Execution of Murderer Willie B. Smith III https://t.co/gsNehsFMsx pic.twitter.com/981QkUYrDf
— Attorney General Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) October 22, 2021
The Supreme Court agreed with Smith’s appeal at the time, but it rejected his latest appeal that he should not be executed given his alleged intellectual feebleness.
NEW: The Supreme Court declines to block the execution of Alabama prisoner Willie Smith, who is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection tonight. No noted dissents, but Sotomayor adds a brief statement expressing concerns about Alabama’s conduct.https://t.co/yZoz5UXYSW pic.twitter.com/PUmVd0pahf
— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) October 22, 2021
The Alabama Department of Corrections restricted media witnesses to the execution, citing COVID-19 concerns, and Smith died at 9:47 p.m. in a southwestern Alabama prison, according to a report.
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He reportedly issued no last words.
