NITROGEN ASPHIXIALive
Kenneth Smith was convicted of murdering a woman in 1988
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Published on January 26, 2024 at 7:39:03 p.m
Jeff Hood, an evangelical pastor, accompanied Smith during the execution. Photo credit: Reproduction/TV Globo
The spiritual adviser to the first prisoner executed by nitrogen asphyxiation in the United States said the condemned man appeared to be in distress during his execution. Kenneth Smith was convicted of murdering a woman in 1988. He died on Thursday evening (25) in Alabama, USA.
Jeff Hood, an evangelical pastor who accompanied Smith during the execution, contradicted the Alabama government's statement that the condemned man would lose consciousness within seconds. The information was published by g1.
For the execution, Smith had a mask placed over his face, causing him to inhale pure nitrogen gas, resulting in death from lack of oxygen.
“What we saw was minutes of someone fighting for their life, writhing back and forth. We saw saliva. We saw the mask strapped as tightly as possible to the back of the stretcher and him repeatedly shaking his head forward. And we also saw “There were correctional officers in the room who were visibly surprised at how poorly the execution went,” Jeff Hood said at a news conference.
In addition to criticizing the execution, Hood said Smith tried to calm the pastor when he noticed his spiritual leader's nervousness.
“When I came in and saw him, even though I was tied up in all these machines, he told me, 'It's all under control, Jeff. Everything is under control.' “This was coming from someone who was going to be executed. He saw that I was suffering from the scene and kept saying, 'Everything is under control,'” the spiritual advisor said.
There is a contrast between the expected length of Smith's execution and the actual length. The Alabama Attorney General's Office told Justice that the nitrogen gas “will cause unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes.”
However, the five journalists who followed the proceedings said the prisoner appeared conscious for several minutes and then began shaking.
Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Ravina Shamdasani, condemned Smith's execution this Friday (26), lamenting the possibility that the man suffered during the procedure.
“We deeply regret the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama, although there are serious concerns that this innovative and untested method of nitrogen gas asphyxiation could amount to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The execution reportedly took up to 25 minutes (the duration) is not exactly clear. And he was convulsing and obviously suffering,” Ravina said at a news conference.
According to Ravina, the UN human rights organization's concern is that nitrogen asphyxiation be introduced as an accepted method of executing people.
“We have already seen several other US states that have approved the use of nitrogen and we demand that they not use it to execute people and work towards a moratorium. Instead of pursuing new, untested methods of executing people, let's simply put an end to death punishment,” he concluded.
The execution began at 7:53 p.m. local time (10:53 p.m. in Brasília). In addition to the journalists, the prisoner's relatives also watched the events through glass. Before the execution began, Smith made a final statement declaring that humanity was taking a step back in terms of the method of death.
He also sent a message to his loved ones: “I leave with love, peace and light,” he said, according to a witness. “Love you all”. Smith was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. (11:25 p.m. in Brasília).
Witnesses also said Smith writhed on the gurney he was lying on for about two minutes. Then he began to breathe deeply until he slowed down.
“It appeared as if Smith was holding his breath as long as he could,” said Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm.
Before the execution, Alabama authorities said in court documents they expected Smith to lose consciousness in less than a minute and die shortly after.
However, Hamm stated that Smith tried to fight back and was faced with “tortured breathing.” According to the commissioner, everything went as expected.