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Thread: Roderick Lynn Smith - Oklahoma

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    Roderick Lynn Smith - Oklahoma




    Summary of Offense:

    He killed his wife, Jennifer Smith, and her four children, Shameka Nicole Carter, 10; Glen Edward Carter, Jr., 9; Ladarian J. Carter, 7; and Kenesha R. Carter, 6, in 1993 in Canadian County. Convicted in 1994, Roderick Smith was handed five death sentences. Prosecutors say he killed his wife during an argument and then killed the children because they were witnesses. Jennifer Smith and her sons were stabbed; her daughters were strangled. During the sentencing phase, jurors heard from a former girlfriend of Roderick Smith's who was stabbed by him about 30 times in 1986. For that crime, Smith pleaded guilty to assault and battery and was sentenced to two years in prison. Defense attorneys say Smith has a brain disorder that triggers violent episodes.

    Smith has been on death row since November 14, 1994.

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    March 9, 2010

    Man given death penalty again in resentencing for OKC death of wife, 4 kids

    OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Jurors considering only sentences for a man convicted of killing his wife and her four children in 1993 have decided anew that he should be on death row.

    Jurors chose chose two death sentences for Roderick Lynn Smith for suffocating his two stepdaughters, and sentences of life without parole as punishment for fatally stabbing his wife and his two stepsons.

    The victims' decomposing bodies were found on June 28, 1993, inside their Oklahoma City home.

    The verdicts Saturday ended a two-week retrial at the Oklahoma County courthouse. The sole issue at the retrial was whether he should be executed for the murders. Five death sentences given to Smith in 1994 were overturned on appeal in 2004, though the convictions were upheld.

    http://www.kfsm.com/news/sns-ap-ok--...,6787336.story

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    Oklahoma court to hear death row inmate's appeal

    It's been 20 years since the decomposing bodies of a woman and her four children were discovered inside the family's Oklahoma City home.

    But the man convicted of their deaths, Roderick Lynn Smith, is still fighting sentences of death he received in an appeal that claims he is mentally retarded and is ineligible for the death penalty under U.S. Supreme Court guidelines.

    Oral arguments are scheduled before the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in the death row inmate's appeal that alleges his death sentence should be thrown out because the Oklahoma County jury that returned it did not consider evidence of his alleged mental retardation.

    Smith's defense attorney, Marva Banks of the Oklahoma County Public Defender's Office, also alleges the omission of jury instructions that touched on legal issues involving his alleged mental retardation deprived Smith of his constitutional rights. Oral arguments are scheduled May 7.

    A spokeswoman for Attorney General Scott Pruitt's office, Diane Clay, said in an email that Smith has raised a total of 18 reasons his death penalty should be reversed, not all involving the issue of mental retardation.

    "We are confident the state will prevail on Smith's allegations and the jury's finding will be affirmed by the court," Clay said.

    The appeal is the second time the state appellate court has considered evidence of Smith's alleged mental retardation. In August 2003, the court remanded the case back to Oklahoma County District Court for a jury trial to determine if Smith is mentally retarded. A jury in 2004 decided Smith was not mentally retarded.

    Smith, 47, was originally sent to Oklahoma's death row in November 1994 when he was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder for the death of his wife, Jennifer, and her four children. Smith admitted he killed all five victims and received five death sentences.

    The victims' bodies were found on June 28, 1993. Investigators said Jennifer Smith, 9-year-old Glen Carter Jr. and 7-year-old Ladarian Carter were stabbed to death. Shemeka Carter, 10, and Kanesha Carter, 6, were strangled, officials said.

    Smith's death sentences were overturned in 2004 when the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that his attorney had provided Smith with ineffective assistance during the sentencing phase of his trial. Smith had also appealed his conviction by alleging his lawyer was ineffective, but the Denver-based appeals court rejected that argument.

    The federal court ordered a resentencing trial for Smith, and in 2010 a new jury was convened in Oklahoma County to determine punishment. Jurors imposed two death sentences on Smith for the deaths of his two stepdaughters, and sentences of life without parole as punishment for fatally stabbing his wife and his two stepsons. The verdicts ended a two-week retrial.

    The U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of the mentally retarded in 2002, ruling that executing mentally retarded individuals violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments. And in Smith's latest appeal, defense attorneys cite numerous instances where defense witnesses have testified that Smith was intellectually limited and low functioning.

    Sandra Collett, a former investigator for the Oklahoma County Public Defender's Office, testified that talking to Smith "was very much like talking to a child and so you just kept everything very simple," according to Smith's appellate brief.

    Smith's former defense attorney, Wyndi Hobbs, described Smith as "simple," ''childlike" and "slow." She said Smith did not seem to understand difficult or complex concepts. Other witnesses testified they never saw Smith read or write and that he preferred crayons and coloring books.

    Numerous IQ tests have been administered to Smith over the years and his scores have ranged from above 70 to as low as 55. Oklahoma law bars death sentences if a defendant meets the state definition of mental retardation, which includes an IQ of 70 or below and "significant limitations in adaptive functioning."

    A forensic psychologist, Dr. Terese Hall, testified that Smith met the qualifications for mental retardation in spite of an Oklahoma County jury's determination in 2004 that he was not.

    "That the jury in Mr. Smith's mental retardation trial did not find he was mentally retarded does not change the fact that he has routinely scored in the mentally retarded range," Smith's appellate brief states.

    The brief also says not instructing jurors about the law on mental retardation violated his due process rights "because it kept the jury from adequately assessing the information presented during the trial."

    No execution date has been set for Smith. He is being held at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/art...al-4432223.php
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    Arguments set in Okla. death row inmate's appeal

    An Oklahoma appeals court is taking up the case of a death row inmate convicted of 5 counts of first-degree murder for the death of his wife and her four children.

    Oral arguments are scheduled Tuesday before the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in the case of 47-year-old Roderick Lynn Smith. Defense attorneys maintain that Smith's death sentence should be thrown out because the Oklahoma County jury that returned it did not consider evidence of his alleged mental retardation. Mentally retarded defendants are ineligible for the death penalty under U.S. Supreme Court guidelines.

    The victims' bodies were found on June 28, 1993. Investigators say Smith's wife, Jennifer, 9-year-old Glen Carter Jr. and 7-year-old Ladarian Carter were stabbed to death. Officials say 10-year-old Shemeka Carter and 6-year-old Kanesha Carter were strangled.

    http://www.news9.com/story/22178146/...inmates-appeal
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    Oklahoma court upholds death penalty in killings

    The death penalty imposed on an Oklahoma man convicted in the deaths of his wife and her four children 20 years ago has been upheld by an appeals court.

    The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals handed down the ruling Wednesday in the case of 46-year-old Roderick Lynn Smith. Smith was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder for the June 1993 deaths of his wife, Jennifer, and her four children. Smith admitted he killed the victims.

    Investigators say Jennifer Smith, 9-year-old Glen Carter Jr. and 7-year-old Ladarian Carter were stabbed. Ten-year-old Shemeka Carter and 6-year-old Kanesha Carter were strangled.

    The court rejected defense arguments that Smith's jury received inadequate legal instructions about his alleged mental retardation.

    His defense attorney, Marva Banks, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

    http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/art...gs-4715304.php
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    Okla. court rejects hearing for death row inmate

    An Oklahoma appeals court has rejected a death row inmate's request for an evidentiary hearing.

    The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals handed down the ruling Thursday for 47-year-old Roderick L. Smith.

    Smith was convicted in Oklahoma County of five counts of first-degree murder for the June 1993 deaths of his wife, Jennifer, and her four children.

    Smith acknowledged killing the victims. He was sentenced to death on two of the murder counts and to life in prison without parole on the remaining three.

    The appeals court rejected allegations by Smith that his attorney was ineffective at his murder trial. The court affirmed Smith's murder convictions and sentences in a separate decision in August.

    Smith's appellate attorney, Wayna Tyner, did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

    http://www.koamtv.com/story/24720066...ath-row-inmate
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    In today's United States Supreme Court orders, Smith's petition for writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis was DENIED.

    http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.a...es/13-8706.htm

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    On June 5, 2014, Smith filed a habeas petition in Federal District Court.

    http://dockets.justia.com/docket/okl...4cv00579/90635

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    On July 13, 2017, Smith's habeas petition was DENIED in Federal District Court.

    http://cases.justia.com/federal/dist...?ts=1500045868
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    On March 20, 2019, oral argument will be heard in Smith's appeal before the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

    https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/sites/...h_2019_Cal.pdf

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