One of the top picks in the 1990 NFL Draft has been sentenced to life in prison.
Anthony Wayne Smith, who was taken 11th overall by the Raiders, was sentenced to life in without parole on Friday, according to the Associated Press. Smith's sentencing came two months after he was convicted of murdering three men.
The three murders took place between 1999 and 2001.
In 1999, Smith kidnapped two brothers from their car-wash business in Los Angeles, and less than 24 hours after the kidnapping, the brothers were found dead.
According to pretrial testimony obtained by ABC-7 in L.A., not only did the brothers suffer gunshot wounds, but their heads were wrapped in duct tape and at least one of them had been branded with an iron.
One of the charges that Smith was convicted on was "murder with special circumstances of torture." The former Raiders draft pick was also convicted on a count of kidnapping.
In the other murder where Smith was convicted, which took place in 2001, he kidnapped a man and then stabbed him to death. The man's body was later found in the trunk of a rental car.
Overall, Smith was sentenced to three consecutive life terms.
All three murders that Smith was convicted of came shortly after his career ended with the Raiders. The defensive end spent six seasons with the team before retiring in 1997.
At the time, Smith's retirement came as a surprise. Smith led the Raiders with 6.5 sacks during his final season in the NFL and was seemingly set to cash in as a free agent after a four-year deal he signed before the 1994 season had expired.
