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Smith, 75, said he asked his family to stay away on Thursday and not witness his execution because 鈥渢hey don’t need to see anything like that.鈥�

Smith was convicted of fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her sons, Jason and Chad, 13 and 16, at their Nashville home on Oct. 1, 1989. A Davidson County jury sentenced him to death the following year.

Some relatives of Smith’s victims do plan to attend the execution, Tennessee Department of Correction spokesperson Dorinda Carter said in an email. The Associated Press requested to interview relatives through the Tennessee Attorney General’s victim services office, but no one agreed to be interviewed.

鈥淢y own personal minister will be with me in the execution chamber with her hand on my shoulder praying,鈥� Smith said. He is grateful for that, but also worried about her.

鈥淚鈥檓 having a real hard time adjusting to the idea of having a young lady in the execution chamber,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he doesn鈥檛 need any bad experiences.鈥�

Smith will be the first Tennessee inmate to be executed under a released in late December that uses a single dose of the barbiturate . While the method is new to Tennessee, it has been used by other states and the federal government.

A review of the drug under President Joe Biden’s administration led then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to halt its use in federal executions, finding it had the potential to cause 鈥� .鈥� New Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered the Justice Department to reconsider that decision.

Smith is over the update to the execution protocols, arguing TDOC failed to follow the recommendations of a yearlong called for by Lee in 2022. However, that trial is not until next January 鈥� too late to change anything for Smith. Only Lee has the power to . He said on Tuesday that he plans to let it go forward.

While lethal injection is the state’s preferred method of execution, some Tennessee inmates in recent years have exercised the option of , expressing the opinion that it would be quicker and less painful. Smith, too, had the option to choose the electric chair, but declined to make a choice.

鈥淏ecause of my religious beliefs, I wouldn’t participate or sign anything,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was taught that taking your own life, or having anything to do with it, is a sin.鈥�

Smith has continued to claim that he is innocent. In a phone interview on May 7 鈥� shortly before he was to begin a 14-day period of relative isolation that is part of the new Tennessee execution protocol 鈥� Smith mostly wanted to discuss his case and the various ways he feels his trial was unfair.

In 2022, a Davidson County Criminal Court judge after a new type of DNA analysis found the DNA of an unknown person on one of the murder weapons.

鈥淣ow that I could rebut everything they used against me, the courts don鈥檛 want to hear it,鈥� is the way Smith sees it. He says he wants a new trial and 鈥渢o be found truly innocent by a jury of my peers.鈥�

However, the judge who declined to reopen his case found the evidence of Smith鈥檚 guilt extensive, citing prior threats and a life insurance policy taken out by Smith for the three victims.

Speaking about the execution, Smith said, “It sounds like we’re going back to medieval times, to the gladiators. People want to see blood sports.

鈥淲hy anyone wants to see anyone being killed, I don’t understand it. We’re supposed to be a civilized country.鈥�