McALESTER, Okla. (AP) — A man convicted of shooting and killing two people in Oklahoma City more than two decades ago was executed Thursday morning.
Michael Dewayne Smith received a lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester and was pronounced dead at 10:20 a.m., Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesperson Lance West said.
After the first of three lethal drugs, midazolam, was administered, Smith, 41, appeared to shake briefly and attempt to lift his head from the gurney before relaxing. He then took several short, audible breaths that sounded like snores or gasps. Oklahoma DOC Director Steven Harpe said after the execution that Smith “appeared to have some form of sleep apnea.”
A masked doctor entered the execution chamber at 10:14 a.m. and shook Smith several times before declaring him unconscious.
Smith appeared to stop breathing about a minute later. The doctor reentered the execution chamber at 10:19 a.m. and checked for a pulse before Harpe announced the time of death.
Smith was sentenced to die in the separate shooting deaths of Janet Moore, 41, and Sharath Pulluru, 22, in February 2002. He is the first person executed in Oklahoma this year and the 12th put to death since the state resumed executions in 2021 following a nearly seven-year hiatus resulting from problems with executions in 2014 and 2015.
Given the opportunity to say last words, Smith responded, “Nah, I’m good.”
Moore's son Phillip Zachary Jr. and niece Morgan Miller-Perkins witnessed the execution from behind one-way glass. Attorney General Gentner Drummond read a statement on their behalf that said in part: “Justice has been served.”
Drummond, in his own statement, called Moore “a rock for her family” and said Pulluru “was an inspiration to his family” as the first member to come to the United States for an education.
“Janet and Sharath were murdered simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time; that was all. I am grateful that justice has been served,” Drummond said.
During a clemency hearing last month, Smith expressed his “deepest sorrows” to the victims’ families, but denied he was responsible.
“I didn’t commit these crimes. I didn’t kill these people,” Smith said, occasionally breaking into tears during his 15-minute address to the board, which denied him clemency in a 4-1 vote. “I was high on drugs. I don’t even remember getting arrested.”
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday morning denied a stay of execution requested by Smith’s attorneys, who argued that his confession to police was not sufficiently corroborated.
Prosecutors say Smith was a ruthless gang member who killed both victims in misguided acts of revenge and confessed his involvement in the killings to police and two other people.
They claim he killed Moore because he was looking for her son, who he mistakenly thought had told police about his whereabouts. Later that day, prosecutors say Smith killed Pulluru, a convenience store clerk who Smith believed had disrespected his gang during an interview with a newspaper reporter.
Smith’s attorney, Mark Henricksen, argued that Smith is intellectually disabled, a condition worsened by years of heavy drug use, and that his life should be spared and he should be allowed to spend the rest of it in prison. Henricksen said Smith was in a PCP-induced haze when he confessed to police and that key elements of his confession aren’t supported by facts.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond reads a statement on behalf of murder victim Janet Moore on Thursday, April 4, 2024, while standing between Moore's son, Phillip Zachary, Jr., and niece Morgan Miller-Perkins at the Oklahoma State penitentiary in McAlester, Okla., following the execution of Michael Dewayne Smith. The 41-year-old was sentenced to die for killing Moore and Sharath Pulluru in separate shootings in February 2002. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)
FILE - This Feb. 5, 2021, file photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows Michael Dewayne Smith, who is scheduled to be executed on April 4, 2024. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP, File)
BRUSSELS (AP) — After three years spent trying to deter Russia from destroying Ukraine, European Union leaders grappled on Monday with how to respond to a major ally who appears determined to start a trade war or even seize part of their territory.
It would “be a cruel paradox if, during the time of this direct Russian threat and Chinese expansion,” the EU and the United States might end up in a “conflict among allies," said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.
Since taking office last month, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on EU imports and refused to rule out military force to take control of Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.
Trump has also mystified Europeans by showing little sign of how he intends to end the war in Ukraine within six months as promised, let alone in a day, as he boasted while campaigning last year.
“We have to do everything to avoid this totally unnecessary and stupid tariff war or trade war,” the Polish prime minister told reporters in Brussels, where EU leaders met for talks on boosting and improving military spending and ramping up Europe’s defense industry.
Tusk said Trump’s threats amount to “a serious test” of European unity, and “in a very strange context, because it’s the first time where we have such a problem among allies.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU is “a power that stands its ground” and that if hit with tariffs, the 27-nation bloc “would have to make itself respected.” He said Trump’s threats are “pushing Europeans to be more united, more active in addressing their collective security challenges.”
Trump slapped tariffs on European steel and aluminum during his first term, and EU leaders have already been in contact with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau since Canada imposed retaliatory duties on U.S. goods in response to a 25% tariff levied by Trump. The U.S. president later on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threat as America’s two largest trading partners took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underlined that ties between the bloc and the United States are part of “our most consequential relationship. It is fundamental to promoting peace, security and prosperity.”
But she warned that “there are clearly new challenges and growing uncertainty” and the EU stands ready to defend itself. “When targeted unfairly or arbitrarily, the European Union will respond firmly,” von der Leyen told reporters after the meeting.
Meanwhile, Denmark’s prime minister again insisted on Monday that Greenland isn't for sale and called for a robust response from the EU should U.S. Trump press ahead with his threat to take control of the island.
“I will never support the idea of fighting allies. But of course, if the U.S. puts tough terms on Europe, we need a collective and robust response,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters.
Last month, Trump left open the possibility that the American military might be used to secure Greenland, as well as the Panama Canal. “We need Greenland for national security purposes,” he said.
Frederiksen said she has “great support” from her EU partners on the fact “that everybody has to respect the sovereignty of all national states in the world, and that Greenland is today a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It’s part of our territory and it’s not for sale.”
European Council President Antonio Costa, noting that the EU has stood beside Ukraine in defense of its borders, said of Greenland: “Of course, we will stand also for these principles, all the more so if the territorial integrity of a member state of the European Union is questioned.”
Frederiksen acknowledged U.S. concerns about security in the Arctic Region, where Russia and China have been increasingly active.
“I totally agree with the Americans that the High North, that the Arctic region is becoming more and more important when we are talking about defense and security and deterrence,” Frederiksen said, adding that the U.S. and Denmark could have “stronger footprints” in Greenland, in security terms.
“They are already there and they can have more possibilities,” she said, underlining that Denmark itself can also “scale up” its security presence. “If this is about securing our part of the world, we can find a way forward,” Frederiksen said.
Last week, her government announced a roughly 14.6 billion kroner (nearly $2 billion) agreement with parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faeroe Islands to “improve capabilities for surveillance and maintaining sovereignty in the region.”
It would include three new Arctic naval vessels, two additional long-range surveillance drones and satellite capacity, the Danish Defense Ministry said.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Stammer, left, is greeted by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte prior to a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana, Pool)
Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, right, arrives for an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a cup and saucer during an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not shown) at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick /The Canadian Press via AP)
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, speaks with Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever at a round table meeting during an EU summit in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, second left, speaks with Czech Republic's Prime Minister Petr Fiala, left, at a round table meeting during an EU summit in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a round table meeting during an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, speaks with Slovenia's Prime Minister Robert Golob at a round table meeting during an EU summit in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, right, greets Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte addresses minsters on the other side of the room during an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, left, speaks with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk as they arrive for an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
European Council President Antonio Costa, left, greets Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever as he arrives for an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
European Council President Antonio Costa, left, greets Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen as she arrives for an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (Nicolas Tucat, Pool Photo via AP)
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, left, speaks with Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk as they arrive for an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen arrives for an EU summit at the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)