NORMAN, Okla. —
A murder case dismissed in 2005 is back on the Cleveland County District Attorney’s desk.
Cameron Smith was charged with first-degree murder in the decapitation of his roommate Roydon Major in 1996. After the case was dismissed in 2005, Smith had been in the Department of Mental Health’s custody.
In May, the Department of Mental Health ruled that Smith was no longer an “immediate threat” and decided to release him from custody. But Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn said that’s not happening until Smith answers to a gruesome murder that happened 27 years ago.
“That’s a really small definition – an immediate threat. What is it? An immediate threat to them means, like, he’s not dangerous today, immediately today. Is it tomorrow? Is it next week,” Mashburn said. “Until I know all that information, I’m not comfortable with him being anywhere but jail or that hospital.”
Mashburn told KOCO 5 that he heard from a concerned citizen before reaching out to the Department of Mental Health.
“We got notification from a third party that he was being released,” he said. “Then we started working with them on coordinating his release and pickup to be put back into custody.”
Smith sent more than 200 letters to the court from 2005 until 2021 while he was in the department’s custody.
“At the time those letters were being written and at the time the last letter was written, it doesn’t appear that he was in a mental state where he would be able to go through a prosecution,” Mashburn said.
The case was dismissed in 2005 because Smith couldn’t assist in his defense. Mashburn wants to see what he’s capable of now.
“I want to see what his current mental status is,” Mashburn said. “If he still can’t even talk to his lawyers, then we’re not any better than we were in 2005.”
The next step is for Smith to meet with his lawyers, and it will be decided if a trial moves forward or if he is still capable of assisting in his defense.