Alabama executed Kenneth Smith using nitrogen hypoxia, a historic first for the United States. Smith, 58, faced the death penalty for his role in a 1988 murder-for-hire case and had previously survived a failed attempt via lethal injection in 2022.
The new execution method has sparked legal and ethical debates, with concerns raised by Smith’s legal team and global experts regarding potential pain or torture associated with nitrogen hypoxia.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall expressed confidence in the execution, asserting that it is now a proven method. He extended support to other states interested in adopting nitrogen hypoxia for capital punishment. Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi are the only states that have approved this method, but Alabama is the first to carry it out and provide a protocol.
During the execution at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility, Smith wore a mask for the administration of nitrogen. The process commenced at 7:53 PM CT, with Smith pronounced dead at 8:25 PM CT. Nitrogen flowed for about 15 minutes, and media witnesses reported Smith being conscious for part of the execution, followed by involuntary movements and agonal breathing.
The controversial method involves replacing the air breathed by the inmate with 100% nitrogen, theoretically causing death without pain. Proponents argue its painlessness, while skeptics fear potential complications and criticized the lack of transparency in Alabama’s plan.
Globally, the execution method faced criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, who called it “novel and untested,” potentially amounting to torture. The European Union described it as “particularly cruel and unusual.”
Smith’s execution brought a mixed response from the victim’s family, describing it as “bittersweet.” Elizabeth Sennett, the victim, was murdered in 1988 in a case of hired killers orchestrated by her husband.
Smith’s execution marks the end of a lengthy legal process, though concerns persist about the ethics and humanity of nitrogen hypoxia as a means of capital punishment.
