Nitrogen Execution
On Thursday, Alabama carried out a first-of-its-kind nitrogen gas execution of a murderer who had been found guilty, placing the US at the forefront of the global discussion around the death penalty. Critics dubbed the approach brutal and experimental, despite the state’s claims that it would be humane.
The new execution method
Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was declared dead at 8:25 p.m. at an Alabama prison, according to officials, after inhaling pure nitrogen gas through a face mask to deprive himself of oxygen. Since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982—which is currently the most often used method—this was the first occasion that a new form of execution had been employed in the United States. Smith was found guilty of a 1988 murder-for-hire in 2022. The state had previously sought to have Smith put to death, but the execution was canceled at the last minute due to issues with the IV line.
Following a furious last-minute legal battle, Smith’s counsel claimed the state was using him as a test subject for a novel manner of execution that might go beyond the constitution’s bar on cruel and unusual punishment. This led to Smith’s death.
Court rejects appeal to block the execution
Smith’s attempt to stop it was denied by federal courts; the US Supreme Court issued a decision on Thursday night. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who along with two other liberal justices dissented, wrote: “Having failed to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama has selected him as its guinea pig’ to test a method of execution never attempted before. The world is watching.”
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Courts assumed it to be the most humane method of execution
In a statement issued before he was put to death, Smith and the Rev. Jeff Hood, his spiritual adviser, said, “The eyes of the world are on this impending moral apocalypse. Our prayer is that people will not turn their heads. We simply cannot normalise the suffocation of each other.”
According to governmental predictions, exposure to nitrogen gas would result in unconsciousness in a matter of seconds and death in minutes. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals was informed by a state attorney that the execution would be “the most painless and humane method known to man.”
However, a number of medical professionals and groups have expressed concern, and Smith’s lawyers have petitioned the Supreme Court to postpone the execution in order to examine arguments that the technique breaches the constitution’s bar on cruel and unusual punishment and needs more legal examination before being applied to a human being.
“There is little research regarding death by nitrogen hypoxia. When the State is considering using a novel form of execution that has never been attempted anywhere, the public has an interest in ensuring the State has researched the method adequately and established procedures to minimise the pain and suffering of the condemned person,” Smith’s attorneys wrote.
