First Alabama prisoner executed by nitrogen gas in decades: summary

Execution by asphyxiation using pure nitrogen of Kenneth Smith in Atmore

Alabama's Commissioner of the Department of Corrections John Hamm shakes hands with Mike Sennett, son of the late Elizabeth Sennett, following the execution of Kenneth Smith by asphyxiation using pure nitrogen at Holman Correctional Facility, in Atmore, Alabama, U.S. January 25, 2024. Smith was convicted of murdering Elizabeth Sennett in 1988. REUTERS/Micah Green

Source: X07395

What we know

US State Alabama has implemented its first-ever execution of a convicted murderer with nitrogen gas after previous attempts to execute him with lethal injections in 2022 failed.
Kenneth Smith was convicted of the 1988 murder of a preacher’s wife, Sennet, after accepting $1,000 from her husband to kill her. For his execution, he was restrained in a gurney with a commercial industrial-safety respirator mask strapped to his face and a cylinder containing pure oxygen attached to the mask.
The execution began at 01.53 GMT until 02.25 GMT when Smith was declared dead after shaking and writhing briefly for about two minutes and finally taking deep breaths. Before this, he remained conscious for several minutes after the gas was activated.
Smith had made a speech before his death that began with the words, “Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backwards. I'm leaving with love, peace and light. Love all of you," Reuters quoted him.
Human rights groups, United Nations torture experts and lawyers for Smith opposed the method of execution, describing it as risky, experimental and detrimental, with the possibility of causing an agonising death or non-fatal injury.

What they said

The Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm told the media, “He struggled against the restraints a little bit but it's an involuntary movement and some agonal breathing. So that was all expected." A spiritual adviser to Smith Rev Jeff Hood on his part was quoted by Reuters, "What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life. We saw minutes of someone heaving back and forth. We saw spit. We saw all sorts of stuff from his mouth develop on the mask. We saw this mask tied to the gurney, and him ripping his head forward over and over and over again." The family of Sennet who was murdered said they had forgiven their relative’s killers, “Nothing that happened here today is going to bring Mom back. It's a bittersweet day, we're not going to be jumping around, hooping and hollering, hooraying and all that, that's not us. We're glad this day is over."

Wonder Hagan