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Times
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Fin Smith: My biggest regret is never meeting grandad. Now I'm a Lion too
Judith Smith will be in a unique position in the history of the British & Irish Lions when she takes her green plastic seat at the Aviva Stadium for Friday night's tour-opening game against Argentina. She will be in Dublin to witness her son, Fin Smith, emulate the feats of her father, Tom Elliot, in becoming a Lion. Never before, in 137 years of touring, has there been such a grandfather-grandson connection. When he was not helping out on the family sheep farm in the Borders, Elliot was a prop for Gala and Scotland who defied his father's initial wishes by accepting an invitation to tour with the 1955 Lions. He contracted pleurisy in South Africa and spent time in hospital but still played eight matches and was hailed upon the squad's return for his contribution to the tour effort. Elliot died of motor neurone disease in 1998. Smith was born four years later and grew up idolising his grandfather, running around in his old Lions gear and asking eager questions of the man he knew only from photographs. Smith heard the stories of Elliot's playing days, from his achievements on the field to some wild post-match celebrations in Edinburgh and the day he quietened a gobby opposition prop by dropping a worm into his mouth. And so when Smith was selected for the 2025 Lions tour to Australia, his emotions spilled over. He thought of his grandfather. He thought of this unique family connection. And he was choked with pride. Smith's tears and those of his family reveal why the legacy of the red jersey matters so much to so many, even in an age of rampant commercialism. 'I don't really cry but I was bawling my eyes out,' Smith, 23, said after being selected. 'I phoned my parents. They were both sobbing. We didn't actually say a word to each other, we just sort of watched each other cry and then hung up. All I've ever wanted to do is be like my grandad and to replicate him.' The Times arranged for Smith to be reunited with Elliot's blazer from 1955 for a unique photo shoot, connecting Lion No380 with (barring any late mishap) Lion No862. 'It was almost a tailored fit,' Smith says. 'Although I am not sure what that says about him as a prop if he could have fitted into the same clothes as me! 'I wore the blazer to a few things growing up. For any smart occasion at school, I would stick on a pair of chinos, a shirt and that jacket because I thought I was the bollocks wearing it. I wore it to show my mates. 'It has a slightly different feel now, trying on my grandad's Lions blazer having been fitted for my own. It will be cool for my mum having two hanging up in the wardrobe one day. 'It feels super special. We have photos all over the house of him playing for Scotland and the Lions. The same with my granny. When you never meet someone you have a real perception of what you think they are like. At a young age it was pure admiration and idolisation of him. 'I love rugby, so to think there was someone in my family who had played for the Lions, I was completely in awe of everything he had done.' When Smith was asked recently to name his dream dinner party guests, his grandfather was on the list. 'My biggest regret in life is that I never got to meet him,' Smith says. 'I look back on everything I have read and learned and footage I have seen of him with real joy. I am so proud to be part of the family with him. 'Only recently, as I have got older, I have found out more about him. I have read all about his rise as a second-team prop at Gala to become the first player from the club to play for the Lions. 'My granny has told me in such detail of what he was like and the games he played in. To then be able to tell her that I had been picked for the Lions, to say, 'This is the same team as grandad played for' is so special and makes it so emotional for me.' Elliot, who won 16 caps for Scotland, never spoke much about his rugby career but he touched so many people in the game that the turnout for his funeral was enormous. Judith and Andrew, her husband and Fin's father, recently discovered a letter from the Lions, sent in October 1955, hailing Elliot's contribution on the three-month adventure to South Africa. Judith tells the story. 'When he was invited to go on tour, his dad said, 'No you are not going. There is farming to do, we are too busy'. That could have been it. You can't imagine Andy saying to Fin, 'You are not going'. 'They would have discussed it. 'You can't have three months off work' — that sort of conversation. My dad would have said: 'I want to go'. We have since found a letter sent to my grandad saying, 'Thank you very much for letting him go.' ' The letter from L.E.L Donne, the honourable secretary of the Four Home Unions Tours Committee, to Mr J Elliot confirms the eternal truth about Lions tours: that their success rests on the contribution of the entire squad and the efforts of those who do not make the Test team. 'My committee has asked me to write to you on their behalf to express their appreciation of the facilities granted to Mr Thomas Elliot, which enabled him to be a member of the British Isles Rugby Union Team on the recent tour to South Africa and Rhodesia,' the letter says. 'My Committee would like you to know that his exemplary conduct and loyalty contributed in no small measure to the outstanding success of the team both on and off the field.' That description of Elliot tallied with the man Judith knew. He was humble and homely. 'He would farm in the morning, go up to Murrayfield in the afternoon to play for Scotland and come back the next day,' Judith says. 'Dad was one of the good guys. Although he was a prop forward, he was the kind of softest chap you can imagine. He was really kind. He had a great sense of humour. 'This man had been giving him loads of grief in the scrum once, niggling away at dad. So the next scrum they're in, when the chap was there starting the chat again, dad just picked up a worm and popped it in his mouth.' Judith sees traits between her father and son, particularly in how thoughtful they are. Smith has always been analytical. He has just completed his fifth year of an Open University degree in mathematics and economics. His dissertation, on how families make their spending decisions, was completed shortly after Northampton Saints had played in the Champions Cup final. 'The last words were written in the taxi on the way to his first Lions meet-up,' Judith says. As a sportsman, Smith was a tennis player first, competing as a schoolboy against Jack Draper, the world No6. He was an angry player, prone to smashing racquets, before switching his focus to rugby while at Warwick School, primarily to play with his friends. Smith's older brother, Angus, also played tennis and rugby. When they go home, they still tackle each other on the trampoline in the garden. 'It started for my grandad just running around with his mates and that is one thing with rugby that resonates with me: training and playing with my best mates every weekend,' Smith says. 'Having a nice full-circle moment with the Lions call-up has been great.' Andrew believes that the tennis background has been key to his son's rapid rise, securing the England No10 jersey in February and now starting for the Lions. 'When you're on the court by yourself, you've only got yourself who can help you,' he says. 'He's always had that resilience, that ability to look after himself, which he's then taken into a team environment. Ordering some big scary forwards around doesn't seem to phase him.' The prospect of being a professional had barely dawned on Smith until Worcester Warriors offered him a contract in the summer of 2020. 'The night it happened, he got in the lift and his little face, he couldn't believe it. That felt like the pinnacle of his career,' Judith says. The Smiths have one of their son's England Under-20 jerseys up on a wall at their house. The decor needs an emergency upgrade, now that he has become a Premiership champion with Northampton, England's first-choice fly half and a Lion in the space of 12 months. Smith is one of nine Englishmen selected to play Argentina, including his fellow Saints Alex Mitchell, the scrum half, and Tommy Freeman on the wing. Smith will have Maro Itoje as his captain and some heavy-duty weaponry outside of him in Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki and Duhan van der Merwe, with Marcus Smith operating as a creative foil from full back. 'This is all a bit mad,' Judith says. 'It has all happened so quickly. Yesterday on Instagram there was a picture of them in a huddle and he's chatting away and you just think, 'You are only little!' 'But he can definitely hold his own. He has proved it. My dad would be very proud of Fin.'
The Sun
23-05-2025
- The Sun
Pleading final words of death row's oldest inmate, 75, as he was executed by injection for killing wife & her two sons
DEATH row's oldest inmate left behind an eerie plea with his final words before being executed by lethal injection. Tennessee inmate Oscar Smith, 75, was put to death on Thursday morning for the 1989 murders of his ex-wife and her teenage sons in the state's first execution since 2020. 7 7 With his final words, Smith insisted that he was innocent and begged for the justice system to be reformed. He said: "Somebody needs to tell the governor the justice system doesn't work." Refuting his conviction one final time, Smith said: "I didn't kill her." He was pronounced dead at 10:47am on Thursday after receiving a lethal dose of the drug pentobarbital at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. The Sun recently spoke to a former death row executioner who saw a killer's head burst into flames and a pastor who has accompanied with more inmates in their final minutes than anyone else. Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife Judith Smith, 13-year-old Jason Burnett and 16-year-old Chad Burnett. He murdered them at the home in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 1, 1989. Sentenced to death in July 1990, Smith spent almost 35 years on death row, and was its oldest inmate in the US. A county court judge denied a request to reopen the case in 2022 , despite some new evidence that another person's DNA had been on one of the murder weapons. The judge ruled that the evidence of Smith's guilt was overwhelming and that the new information did not change that. I'm a death row executioner - a killer's head burst into flames when I put him in electric chair Two of Smith's colleagues told the original trial that he asked them to kill Judith. He also had a history of violence and threats against the family. Further clinching the conviction was the fact that Smith took out insurance policies on all three of his victims. The court also heard that one of the teen victims could be heard screaming "Frank, no!" in the background of a 911 call at the time of the murders. Frank is Smith's middle name, and the one he used regularly. After Smith had been confirmed dead, Judith's two siblings said they still miss the three victims, all these years later. 7 7 Her sister, Terri Osborne, said the deaths are a reminder of the dangers of domestic violence. She said: 'We know it is an incredibly hard thing to do to leave a spouse who is abusing, but pray that this case becomes a call to action, encouraging those in danger to seek help before it's too late." Smith's execution was the first in Tennessee since 2020, and he chose the lethal injection - a cocktail of three drugs. He could alternatively have chosen to be killed in the electric chair. There has been significant controversy around the method in recent years - with Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the Supreme Court describing it as "the chemical equivalent of being burned at the stake". 7 7 In March, a double murderer called Brad Sigmon became the first person in the US to be executed by firing squad in 15 years. He reportedly kept breathing after being shot three times in the chest. Three special bullets were shot at his heart by three volunteer riflemen at the South Carolina Department of Corrections in Columbia. Sigmon, 67, was convicted of beating to death with a baseball bat his ex-girlfriend's parents, David and Gladys Larke, at their Taylors home in 2001. List of executions so far in 2025 January 31: Marion Bowman (South Carolina) February 5: Steven Nelson (Texas) February 6: Demetrius Frazier (Alabama) February 13: James Ford (Florida) February 13: Richard Tabler (Texas) March 7: Brad Sigmon (South Carolina) March 18: Jessie Hoffman (Louisiana) March 19: Aaron Gunches (Arizona) March 20: Wendell Grissom (Oklahoma) March 20: Edward James (Florida) April 8: Michael Tanzi (Florida) April 11: Mikal Mahdi (South Carolina) April 23: Moises Sandoval Mendoza (Texas) April 24: James Osgood (Alabama) May 1: Jeffrey Hutchinson (Florida) May 15: Glen Rogers (Florida) May 20: Benjamin Ritchie (Indiana) May 20: Matthew Johnson (Texas) May 22: Oscar Smith (Florida)
New York Post
23-05-2025
- New York Post
Tennessee death row inmate Oscar Smith's final words revealed as he's executed for murder of wife, her sons
Tennessee inmate Oscar Smith was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning for the 1989 murders of his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her teenage sons, Jason and Chad Burnett. Smith was pronounced dead at 10:47 a.m. after a lethal injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital. The 75-year-old had maintained his innocence. In a lengthy final statement, he railed against the justice system, saying it 'doesn't work,' echoing sentiments expressed in a recent interview with The Associated Press. 6 Oscar Smith was executed in Tennessee on May 22, 2025. Tenesse Department of Corrections/AFP via Getty Images Speaking of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Smith said, 'He has the last word and is the last person who can give justice where justice is needed.' There are more men waiting to die at the prison, he said. 'I'm not the first, and I'm not going to be the last.' Smith was strapped to a gurney and had an IV in his right arm. It was attached to a long tube that ran into a different room where the lethal injection was administered. Witnesses saw no obvious sign that the injection had begun after his final statement, but Smith's speech became labored as he spoke with his spiritual adviser. Witnesses heard him say, 'I didn't kill her.' He appeared calm and did not appear to struggle as visible signs of respiration stopped. Thursday marked the first time Tennessee officials allowed a spiritual adviser into the execution chamber with the inmate. She prayed over Smith and comforted him, at one point singing, 'I'll Fly Away.' 6 Terri Osborne and Mike Robirds speak about their sister Judy Robirds Smith who was killed by her husband alongside her twin sons on Oct. 1, 1989. AP The crime Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith, 13-year-old Jason Burnett and 16-year-old Chad Burnett at their Nashville, Tennessee, home on Oct. 1, 1989. He was sentenced to death by a Davidson County jury in July 1990 for the murders. In 2022, a Davidson County Criminal Court judge denied requests to reopen his case despite some new evidence that the DNA of an unknown person was on one of the murder weapons. 6 Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada and Assistant Commissioner of Prison Operations Linda Thomas leave the Riverbend Maximum Seciurity Insititution to speak to reporters on May 22, 2025. AP The judge wrote that the evidence of Smith's guilt was overwhelming and the DNA evidence did not tip the scales in his favor. Two of Smith's co-workers testified at trial that he had solicited them to kill Judith Smith, and he had a history of threats and violence against her and the boys. Smith had also taken out insurance policies on all three victims. And one of the child victims could be heard yelling what prosecutors said was, 'Frank, no!' in the background of a 911 call on the night of the murder. Frank is Smith's middle name and the one that he used regularly. Judith Smith's siblings speak Judith Smith's sister, Terri Osborne, and brother, Mike Robirds, witnessed the execution and spoke to reporters afterwards, standing in front of large portraits of their sister and nephews. 'The pain of losing Judy, Chad, and Jason is something we will continue to carry,' Osborne said. 'Not a moment goes by that we don't miss them. We miss the sound of Judy's voice on the other end of the phone. We miss the excitement of planning Chad's driving lessons. And we miss the pure joy of hearing Jason's laughter.' 6 Judith Smith's sister, Terri Osborne, and brother, Mike Robirds, witnessed the execution and spoke to reporters afterwards, standing in front of large portraits of their sister and nephews. AP The tragic deaths are a reminder of the devastating consequences of domestic violence, Osborne said. 'We know it is an incredibly hard thing to do to leave a spouse who is abusing, but pray that this case becomes a call to action, encouraging those in danger to seek help before it's too late,' Osborne said. The murders were brutal, Robirds said. 'No one should have to live in fear like our sister did,' he said. 'And no family should have to endure a loss like ours.' Protesters gather Christina Isbell was among the death penalty opponents who protested outside the prison. Her downtown Nashville church, Christ Church Cathedral, includes a death row ministry. 'For me, it's just all about what God teaches,' Isbell said. 'And that is, even though somebody else may commit a horrible crime, you don't go do that to them as well.' 6 Protesters gather outside the prison in Nashville, Tenn. on May 22, 2025. AP William Burgess was the lone person standing in a fenced off area for death penalty supporters outside the prison. He said he owned a car lot across the street from the home where Smith murdered his family members. Burgess said he was one of the first one to see the bodies. 'He lived too long,' Burgess said of Smith. 'Waste of taxpayers' money.' A surprise reprieve and a lawsuit Smith's attorney, assistant federal public defender Amy Harwell, told reporters afterward he will be remembered for his 'cantankerous, curmudgeonly brand of kindness' and leatherwork skill. She said Smith will not have an autopsy due to his religious beliefs. But she said other autopsies have shown this execution method causes 'excruciating pain and suffering.' 6 Guards on horseback watch the demonstration outside the maximum security institution. AP Tennessee executions have been on hold for five years, first because of COVID-19 and then because of missteps by the Tennessee Department of Correction. Smith came within minutes of execution in 2022 before a surprise reprieve from Republican Gov. Bill Lee. It later turned out the lethal drugs for that planned execution had not been properly tested. A yearlong investigation revealed numerous other problems with Tennessee executions. The correction department issued new guidelines for executions in December that are the subject of an ongoing lawsuit. Nineteen men have died by court-ordered execution so far this year in the US, and nine other people are scheduled to be put to death in seven states during the remainder of 2025.
Daily Mirror
23-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Death row inmate shares bold four-word claim seconds before execution
Oscar Franklin Smith was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville for the brutal murders of his estranged wife and her two sons in 1989 Oscar Smith was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning for the 1989 murders of his ex-wife, Judith Smith, and her sons, Jason and Chad Burnett, and he had some bold final words. Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith, 13-year-old Jason Burnett and 16-year-old Chad Burnett at their Nashville, Tennessee, home on October 1, 1989. He was sentenced to death by a Davidson County jury in July 1990 for the murders. Two of Smith's co-workers testified at trial that he had solicited them to kill Judith Smith, and he had a history of threats and violence against her and the boys. Smith had also taken out insurance policies on all three victims. And one of the child victims could be heard yelling what prosecutors said was, 'Frank, no!' in the background of a 911 call on the night of the murder. Frank is Smith's middle name and the one that he used regularly. Despite the overwhelming evidence the former machinist never wavered in his claims of innocence. In an extensive last statement, he condemned the justice system, claiming it "doesn't work." Regarding the Tennessee Govenor Bill Lee, Smith said: "He has the last word and is the last person who can give justice where justice is needed." He noted that others are awaiting their fate in prison, stating, "I'm not the first, and I'm not going to be the last. The Tennessee prisoner, 75, was secured to a gurney with an IV in his arm connected to a tube leading to another room. But, moments before his death his speech grew strained while talking to his spiritual adviser, with witnesses hearing him assert: "I didn't kill her." Throughout, he remained composed and showed no signs of struggle as his breathing stopped. He was declared dead at 10:47am local time following the lethal injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital. This execution was notable as it was the first instance in Tennessee where a spiritual adviser was permitted inside the chamber. She offered prayers and solace to Smith, even singing "I'll Fly Away" at one point. Over the years, he's had multiple execution dates that were rescheduled because of COVID-19 and moratoriums to review the state's lethal injection process. Judy's sister Terri said: 'The pain of losing Judy, Chad, and Jason is something that we will continue to carry. It's not a moment that goes by that we don't miss them. I miss the sound of Judy's voice — I know my brother does as well — on the other end of the phone. We miss the excitement of planning Chad's driving lessons, and we miss the pure joy of hearing Jason's laughter. These are memories and wounds that will never fully heal.' Despite some fresh evidence in 2022 suggesting the DNA of an unknown individual on one of the murder weapons, a Davidson County Criminal Court judge dismissed appeals to revisit his case. The judge's ruling stated that the proof of Smith's guilt was incontrovertible and that the new DNA findings didn't alter the situation in his favour. At the trial, two of Smith's colleagues testified that he had tried to hire them to murder Judith Smith, and there was evidence of his previous threats and violence towards her and the boys. Smith had also taken out insurance policies on all three victims. Moreover, during a 911 call made on the night of the murders, one of the young victims can be heard shouting what prosecutors claimed was, "Frank, no!" Frank is Smith's middle name, which he commonly used.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- CBS News
Tennessee man executed for killing wife and her 2 sons, says "justice system doesn't work" before lethal injection
Tennessee inmate Oscar Smith was executed by lethal injection on Thursday morning for the 1989 murders of his estranged wife Judith Smith and her teenage sons, Jason and Chad Burnett. Smith, 75, was pronounced dead after a lethal injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital. The 75-year-old had maintained his innocence, and in a lengthy series of final words, in part said, "Somebody needs to tell the governor the justice system doesn't work." Witnesses also heard Smith say, "I didn't kill her." Oscar Smith was executed in Tennessee for fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife and her sons decades ago. Tennessee Department of Correction / AP He was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting Judith Smith, 13-year-old Jason Burnett and 16-year-old Chad Burnett at their Nashville, Tennessee, home on Oct. 1, 1989. He was sentenced to death by a Davidson County jury in July 1990 for the murders. In 2022, a Davidson County Criminal Court judge denied requests to reopen his case despite some new evidence that the DNA of an unknown person was on one of the murder weapons. The judge wrote that the evidence of Smith's guilt was overwhelming and the DNA evidence did not tip the scales in his favor. Two of Smith's co-workers testified at trial that he had solicited them to kill Judith Smith, and he had a history of threats and violence against her and the boys. Smith had also taken out insurance policies on all three victims. And one of the child victims could be heard yelling what prosecutors said was, "Frank, no!" in the background of a 911 call on the night of the murder. Frank is Smith's middle name and the one that he used regularly. Terri Osborne and her brother Mike Robirds miss the sound of their sister's voice on the other end of the phone, she told reporters after the execution. They'll never get to plan Chad's driving lessons or hear the "pure joy of hearing Jason's laughter" again, she said. The tragic deaths are a reminder of the devastating consequences of domestic violence, Osborne said. "We know it is an incredibly hard thing to do to leave a spouse who is abusing, but pray that this case becomes a call to action, encouraging those in danger to seek help before it's too late," Osborne said. Darlene Kimbrough, who knows Smith through her visits to another inmate on death row over the past decade, said she sent him a card recently. It just said, "'I hope you know that you are loved,'" Kimbrough said. Unexpectedly, she received a letter in reply on Tuesday, thanking her. She thinks that Smith was at peace with the idea of death, she said. Tennessee executions had been on hold for five years, first because of COVID-19 and then because of missteps by the Tennessee Department of Corrections. There are 46 people currently on the state's death row, according to the not-for-profit Death Penalty Information Center, which researches and collects data on the death penalty. Smith came within minutes of execution in 2022 before he was saved by a surprise reprieve from Republican Gov. Bill Lee. It later turned out that the lethal drugs that were going to be used had not been properly tested. A yearlong investigation turned up numerous other problems with Tennessee executions, which found that the state repeatedly failed to follow its own protocols in performing seven executions and preparing for an eighth between 2018 and 2022. The correction department issued new guidelines for executions in December. The new execution manual contains a single page on the lethal injection chemicals with no specific directions for testing the drugs. It also removes the requirement that the drugs come from a licensed pharmacist. Tennessee is not the only state to resume executions after a pause to examine its methods. Indiana resumed executions by lethal injection this week after a 15-year hiatus. Other states have turned to alternative methods. Idaho lawmakers passed legislation that will make firing squads the state's primary method of execution starting next year. South Carolina executed two people by firing squad this year. Alabama turned to nitrogen gas, executing four people using the controversial method since 2024.
