James Edward Smith (murderer)

James Edward Smith (January 17, 1951 – June 26, 1990) was an American convicted murderer executed by the state of Texas. He was convicted of the 1983 murder of Henry Lee Coffield, an insurance clerk, during a robbery in Dallas.

Smith gained notoriety not only for the brutality of the crime – he stabbed Coffield multiple times with a screwdriver and a knife – but also for his final meal request, which allegedly included a clod of dirt. This request, though widely reported, has been disputed by prison officials and media outlets. Smith himself maintained his innocence up until his execution.

He was executed by lethal injection on June 26, 1990, at the Huntsville Unit in Texas. His case became a focal point in debates surrounding capital punishment, particularly regarding the potential for executing innocent individuals and the morality of the death penalty. Numerous appeals and stays of execution were filed on his behalf, but all were ultimately denied.