There are 97 inmates on death row in Tennessee. 38 of them were convicted in trials in Shelby County. The medical examiner in Shelby County is O.C. Smith, who has recently been charged with a rather bizarre crime.

O.C. Smith pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he lied when he said an unknown assailant wrapped him in barbed wire and hung a bomb around his neck. He also pleaded not guilty to possessing an illegal explosive.

Authorities have given no indication why Smith, 51, would have staged an attack. He was discovered in June 2002 in a stairwell outside his office. He suffered minor injuries, and told authorities he was attacked by someone who threw a chemical in his face.

....Smith "either did the autopsies, or testified, or at least supervised the autopsies" in 30 percent to 40 percent of the convictions of the state's death row inmates, Dawson said.

The Governor of Tennessee has postponed one execution to date due to the investigation into Mr. Smith's conduct.