Harold Wayne Nichols
The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday set the execution date for a Hamilton County man described as a serial rapist.
Harold Wayne Nichols was convicted in the Sept. 30, 1988, rape and murder of Karen Pulley.
He was sentenced to death on May 12, 1990, and has been on death row for over 21 years.
The Supreme Court set an execution date of June 9, 2022, for Nichols.
The court also set an execution date of April 21, 2022, for Oscar Franklin Smith, convicted of the murder of three family members in Nashville in 1989. The court originally set the execution for June 4, 2020. Upon motions of Smith, the court reset the execution for February 4, 2021, and ultimately stayed the execution due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s order, which can be read here, lifts the stay.
The court originally set the execution of Nichols for Aug. 4, 2020. On July 17, 2020, Governor Bill Lee issued an executive reprieve from the execution that expired by its own terms on Dec. 31, 2020.
View the Order here.