Stop the Execution of Michael Smith in Oklahoma
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt & the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board
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Michael Smith is on death row in Oklahoma for the murders of Janet Moore and Sharath “Babu” Pulluru and has an execution date scheduled for April 4, 2024.
The State of Oklahoma is preparing to execute Michael Smith, who not only has a significant intellectual disability claim, but is someone who has the exact same scores as Darrin Pickens, whose death sentence was reversed when he made such a claim. This disparity is cited in the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission’s bipartisan landmark report on Oklahoma’s use of the death penalty (147-148). Justice demands so much more than the treatment that Michael Smith has received. The State of Oklahoma is preparing to execute someone who (at a minimum) is ineligible to be executed.
Oklahoma's aggressive execution schedule marks it as an outlier in its use of the death penalty while the majority of other states are on a downward trend of executions. In the last few years, Oklahoma has been one of only a handful of states that have carried out death sentences - and it continues to do so targeting the poor, the mentally ill and people of color.
This particular execution is just one in a series of 25 executions scheduled by Oklahoma in the coming months, despite serious concerns around the state's lethal injection protocols and drugs.
Please sign the petition asking Governor Stitt and the Pardon and Parole Board to do everything within their power to ensure this execution does not go forward, and to seek a path to clemency in the case.
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To:
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt & the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board
From:
[Your Name]
We are writing to you regarding Michael Smith, who is on death row in Oklahoma for the murders of Janet Moore and Sarath “Babu” Pulluru. He has an execution date set for April 4, 2024.
The State of Oklahoma is preparing to execute Michael Smith, who not only has a significant intellectual disability claim, but is someone who has the exact same scores as Darrin Pickens, whose death sentence was reversed when he made such a claim. This disparity is cited in the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission’s bipartisan landmark report on Oklahoma’s use of the death penalty (147-148). Justice demands so much more than the treatment that Michael Smith has received. The State of Oklahoma is preparing to execute someone who (at a minimum) is ineligible to be executed.
We are concerned that while the vast majority of states with capital punishment continue on a downward trend of executions, Oklahoma has continued to go against trend by carrying on an aggressive execution schedule - targeting the poor, the mentally ill and people of color.
We, the undersigned, ask that you do everything within your power to ensure this execution does not go forward, and to seek a path to clemency in the case.
Thank you for time and attention to this urgent and serious matter.