The US state of Alabama must execute a man using a method considered cruel
The state of Alabama in the United States executed this Thursday (25) a prisoner using the nitrogen asphyxiation method, never used in the country. Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, convicted of murder, was the man executed.
Around 11 p.m., Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said Smith had been pronounced dead.
“On March 18, 1988, 45yearold Elizabeth Sennett’s life was brutally taken by Kenneth Eugene Smith,” the governor said in a statement.
“After more than 30 years and attempt after attempt to game the system, Mr. Smith has answered for his terrible crimes.”
A mask was placed on his face and the air he breathed was pure nitrogen gas, causing him to die from lack of oxygen.
It is the first time a new method of execution has been used in the United States since 1982, when lethal injection began.
His pastor, Jeff Hood, said you can't normalize someone's death by suffocation.
Before his death, the state of Alabama, where Smith was convicted and executed, stated that nitrogen gas would render him unconscious within seconds and that death would occur within minutes.
Smith is one of the few people who survived an attempt on his life by the state: in 2022, they tried to execute him with a lethal injection, but were unable to find a vein that could serve as an intravenous route to administer the poison, and so gave up them up.
Last minute attempts
His lawyers made two lastminute attempts to prevent the execution.
- On Wednesday, lawyers argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that a man sentenced to death cannot be subjected to two attempts at execution. The request was rejected.
- Also on Wednesday, lawyers appealed to an appeals court, saying there could be problems with the mask and there was a risk of brain damage. The court rejected the request. Smith's representatives then appealed to the Supreme Court, which ordered the execution to continue this Thursday.
1 of 1 Kenneth Smith, man sentenced to death in the state of Alabama, USA Photo: Portal Kenneth Smith, man sentenced to death in the state of Alabama, USA Photo: Portal
Smith was convicted of murdering a woman in 1988. According to the prosecution, the murder was ordered by her husband, a priest. The husband committed suicide. The conviction took place in 1996.
In addition to Smith, another man was involved in the murder. He has since been executed by the state of Alabama.