"Oklahoma Executes Michael Dewayne Smith for Double Killing"

Oklahoma death row inmate Michael DeWayne Smith was executed for the 2002 double killing of Janet Moore and Sharath Pulluru. Smith, who maintained his innocence, was the first convict executed by the state in 2024. His execution was witnessed by the victims' family members, and the attorney general stated that "justice has been served." Smith's attorney argued that he was intellectually disabled and should have been spared. A group opposing the death penalty protested the execution, while Smith's family petitioned the governor to intervene, claiming new evidence showed witness coercion during trial.