The US state of Alabama must execute a man using a method considered cruel
The date is in a Jan. 10 ruling in which Alabama Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. rejected an appeal by the defense of 58yearold Kenneth Smith not to proceed with the execution. Smith killed a woman in March 1998; According to the prosecution, the murder was ordered by her husband, a priest; the husband committed suicide.
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
On November 17, 2022, Smith survived an attempted execution by lethal injection. He was strapped to a stretcher for more than an hour while police officers tried unsuccessfully to find a vein good enough to contain the poison. In court, the defense said Smith experienced physical and psychological pain and developed posttraumatic stress disorder.
The defense also says that the death row convict will be subjected to a new and experimental method as a “guinea pig.”
“After the first agonizing attempt to execute Kenny Smith by lethal injection failed, Alabama is now planning to try again,” wrote Bryan Stevenson, executive director of the nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative.
Amnesty International also urged the state of Alabama not to execute Smith. One of the arguments is that he was acquitted by a popular jury by 11 votes 1, but the verdict was later overturned by the courts.
Understand what can happen
What is Nitrogen Hypoxia?
Execution by nitrogen hypoxia would result in death because the prisoner would be forced to breathe pure nitrogen, depriving him of the oxygen necessary to maintain body functions.
No state has used nitrogen hypoxia to carry out a death sentence. In 2018, Alabama became the third state, joining Oklahoma and Mississippi, to authorize the use of nitrogen gas to execute prisoners.
Some states are looking for new methods of executing inmates as it becomes increasingly difficult to find drugs used in lethal injections, the most common method of execution in the United States.
How does the execution work?
Nitrogen, a colorless and odorless gas, makes up 78% of the air humans breathe and is harmless when inhaled with sufficient oxygen levels.
The theory behind nitrogen hypoxia is that changing the composition of the air to 100% nitrogen causes Smith to lose consciousness and then die from lack of oxygen.
Much of the nitrogen exposure death reported in medical journals is due to industrial accidents where nitrogen leaks or confusion killed workers and suicide attempts.
What does the state of Alabama plan to do?
After Smith was secured on the stretcher in the execution chamber, the state said in a court filing that it would provide Smith with a “Type C respirator,” a type of mask typically used in industrial settings to provide lifegiving oxygen Face.
The prison guard then reads out the death sentence and asks Smith if he has any final words before activating the “nitrogen asphyxiation system” from another room. According to state protocol, nitrogen gas is administered for at least 15 minutes or five minutes after the absence of vital signs on the electrocardiogram, “whichever is longer.”
The Alabama Attorney General's Office told Justice that the nitrogen gas “will cause unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes.”
Smith's lawyers say the state is trying to make him a “guinea pig” for a new method of execution.
They argued that the mask the state plans to use is not completely sealed and that taking oxygen could subject him to a prolonged execution, potentially leaving him in a vegetative state rather than killing him. A doctor who testified on Smith's behalf said the oxygendepleted environment could cause nausea and cause Smith to choke on his own vomit.
Experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council warned earlier this month that they said the nitrogen asphyxiation method of execution would violate the ban on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments.
The American Veterinary Medical Association wrote in its 2020 euthanasia guidelines that nitrogen hypoxia may be an acceptable method of euthanasia under certain conditions for pigs, but not for other mammals because it creates an “environment that is stressful for some species.”
Can the execution be postponed?
The question of whether the execution can be carried out could go to the US Supreme Court.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Friday on Smith's request to stop the execution. After the court's decision, both sides were able to appeal to the Supreme Court.