Ohio executes Vernon Smith

A Toledo man convicted of fatally shooting a convenience-store owner in 1993 this morning became the second person in the U.S. to be put to death using a single drug.

Vernon Smith, 37, was pronounced dead at 10:28 after Lucasville prison staff administered a fatal dose of thiopental sodium, a powerful anesthetic.

He was the 2nd death-row inmate to be put to death with a single drug after Ohio switched from a 3-drug system in November. The change came after a botched execution attempt in October.

"I'm sure there are plenty of people across the country who are watching what we're doing today," said state prisons director Terry Collins before the execution.

Smith, who converted to Islam and changed his name to Abdullah Sharif Kaazim Mahdi in prison, repeated in Arabic four times: "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his prophet."

He was convicted of fatally shooting Sohail Darwish, a 28-year-old immigrant from Saudi Arabia who owned a convenience store in Toledo that Smith and two accomplices robbed. Even though Darwish complied with the men's orders to hand over money from the cash register and his wallet, Smith shot him in the chest.

Darwish, who bled to death, had a 1-year-old daughter and his wife was pregnant with another girl. Both came to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville today to witness Smith's execution.

Smith did not appear to show remorse over the murder and did not cooperate during clemency hearings.

Still, 2 of the 7 state Parole Board members recommended clemency Dec. 11. Gov. Ted Strickland, who admitted he wrestled with the decision, said late yesterday afternoon he would not to spare Smith's life.

Smith arrived at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville at 9:45 a.m. yesterday. He fasted from sunrise to sunset before eating a meal of whole and chopped dates and hot tea with lemon and honey. He also received olive oil to groom his beard and a "miswak" stick, a twig from the Peelu tree commonly used in Muslim countries to clean the teeth.

Dates are recommended in the Islamic faith to consume when ending a fast.

Smith spent the night on the phone with a friend and a cousin before meeting with a mental-health counselor at dawn, prison officials said. He then huddled with two spiritual advisers: Iman Atif Hamed and Iman Sunni Ali.

Smith did not eat breakfast.

He had 2 brief phone calls with his wife yesterday before learning at 5:27 p.m. that Strickland had denied clemency. Smith's reaction was positive and respectful, a prison spokeswoman said.

The inmate spent the early evening with Hamed, who was the only person associated with Smith scheduled to witness the execution.

Smith becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in Ohio and the34th overall since the state resumed capital punishment in 1999.

Smith becomes the 1st condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the USA and the 1189th overall since the nation resumed executions on January17, 1977.

Sources: Columbus Dispatch and Rick Halperin, Jan. 7, 2010