The Alabama Supreme Court this week authorized the execution of a prisoner using nitrogen gas for the first time. Alabama could be the first US state to use this unprecedented method to carry out a death sentence.
Kenneth Eugene Smith will be the first inmate to be executed with nitrogen, according to the attorney general. He was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of the pastor’s wife, Elizabeth Sennett. Her husband paid the convict and another man $1,000 each to kill her in 1988. He was heavily in debt and wanted to collect on the insurance. The victim was beaten and stabbed.
According to proponents, the method is painless
The execution method by asphyxiation involves forcing the prisoner to inhale only nitrogen. This deprives the condemned candidate of oxygen, which is necessary to maintain body functions. Nitrogen makes up 78 percent of the air and is harmless when inhaled with oxygen. Proponents of the new method believe that this type of execution is painless.
Lawyers: Smith ‘subject’
Smith’s attorneys see it differently: “The State is attempting to make Mr. Smith a subject for the first execution attempt by using an untested and recently approved method to execute convicted people using the new method of nitrogen hypoxia,” they explained in the statement. September and called on the court to deny the execution request.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a statement calling for a swift execution of the sentence: “The family of Elizabeth Sennett has waited an unconscionable 35 years for justice.”
Execution by lethal injection failed in 2022
Last year, an attempt to execute Smith by lethal injection failed. Officers had difficulty finding intravenous access. Smith lay on a stretcher for hours as officers stabbed him repeatedly with needles.
As of 2018, execution via nitrogen hypoxia has been legal in the United States, but never practiced. Now the all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court gave the green light to the execution order. The order did not specify the method of execution, but Alabama’s attorney general indicated in documents filed with the court that he intended to kill Smith with nitrogen. The exact date of the execution will be determined later by the governor.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
