Oklahoma panel denies clemency for death row inmate, paves way for lethal injection

By SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has denied clemency for a death row inmate convicted of killing two people more than two decades ago. Wednesday’s 4-1 vote clears the way for Michael Dewayne Smith to be executed on April 4. Smith was convicted and sentenced to die for the deaths of a woman and a convenience store clerk in separate shootings in Oklahoma City in 2022. His attorneys told the five-member board that Smith is intellectually disabled and that his condition worsened as a result of heavy drug use. Prosecutors dispute that Smith is intellectually disabled and note that he confessed to police and two other people to his involvement in the killings.