Death-row prison guard Henry Smith knows a thing or two about reprieves.
Smith, who sang last night on “American Idol” — in the second round of “Hollywood Week” — made it onto the show after four tryouts: New Jersey, San Francisco, Los Angeles and, finally, a winning MySpace audition.
Smith, 27, who works at the Northern Correctional Institution in Somers, Conn. — and lives in Ellington — told The Hartford Courant that he didn’t get past a producer in his first tryout, in New Jersey.
But, undaunted, he flew to San Francisco, where he waited for two days and was cut because the song he sang “wasn’t cleared for TV,” he said.
Encouraged by other wannabes, he then flew to the LA tryouts, where he didn’t make it past the first round.
He then submitted his MySpace audition and sang before show judges Steven Tyler, Randy Jackson and Jennifer Lopez — who sent him to Hollywood.
He was even paired with another correctional officer who works on death row in Texas, according to the Courant article.
“They were following us all the time with cameras,” he said.
And, he remains optimistic despite the chance he’ll get booted from the show.
“Even if this thing doesn’t work out, I want to keep fighting to have it work out,” he told the Courant.
“It’s what I want to do.”