US man executed for killing Indian and another person in Oklahoma in 2002

PTI

Houston, April 4

A 41-year-old man convicted of shooting and killing two people, including an Indian, in the US state of Oklahoma in 2002 was executed on Thursday.

Michael Dewayne Smith was executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester town, television station KOCO-TV reported.

Smith had been on death row for the murders of 24-year-old Indian store clerk Sharath Pulluru and 40-year-old Janet Moore in separate incidents on February 22, 2002.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond released a statement on Smith's execution, saying, "I pray that today brings some measure of peace for the families of Janet Miller-Moore and Sharath Pulluru. It has been a long and difficult 22 years for their loved ones, and my heart aches over the agony they have endured."    

“I want the people of Oklahoma to know that the victims of Michael Smith were good and decent people who did not deserve their fate," Drummond said.

“Sharath, a bright young man with a generous spirit, was the first in his family to come to the United States to pursue an education. He was fun to be around, was an inspiration to his family, and had a promising future," he said.

He added that the two were murdered because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. "That was all. I am grateful that justice has been served,” he said.

Last month, Sharath's brother, Harish Pulluru, released a statement demanding the denial of Smith's clemency.

“Sharath was a wonderful person, he was the first in our family to come to the United States. He is the reason I became a doctor. When he first came to the United States I would wait in a phone booth in India for him to call and cherished every conversation we had," KFOR television channel had reported, citing the statement.

"I saw the pain that my parents lived with every day. Sharath was a loving son, brother and uncle. He was the life of our family. We are a very close family and his sudden death in such a violent manner has affected our lives every day since. We ask that clemency be denied,” Harish said.

Before his execution, Smith said in a statement: "My life is on the line. Despite new evidence, my attorney Mark Henricksen has informed my family that he will be filing no further appeals on my behalf. I am releasing this statement to demand that Henricksen do his job and fight for my life." 

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