Alabama executes inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith using nitrogen gas

The state of Alabama finally performed the first execution of a death row prisoner using nitrogen gas. Kenneth Eugene Smith who was sentenced to death in 1996 for a homicide committed in 1988, was pronounced dead Thursday night.

Inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith was sentenced to death in 1996 after he was hired to kill a man's wife. He was declared dead at 8:25 p.m. (02:25 GMT on Friday), 29 minutes after the start of execution, according to a statement from the attorney general of Alabama, Steve Marshall.

"Justice has been served. Tonight, Kenneth Smith was put to death for the heinous act he committed 35 years ago," declared Steve Marshall, stating that Alabama "achieved something historic."

Alabama Execution Statement by juancarlos.tellez on Scribd

The execution came after an appeals court authorized the nation's first execution by nitrogen gas. The decision was made after the Supreme Court rejected Kenneth Eugene Smith's request for a stay of execution.

Smith, 58, was facing execution for his role in a 1988 homicide. The defendant alleged that the method of execution - nitrogen hypoxia - violated the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution which protects a convicted person's right not to receive cruel and unusual punishment.

However, the appeals court overwhelmingly concluded that "Supreme Court precedent is clear that a new method of execution does not automatically establish a claim for cruel and unusual punishment."

Alabama approved the use of nitrogen hypoxia in 2018

Alabama approved execution using the nitrogen hypoxia method in 2018. In November 2022, Smith was sentenced to die by lethal injection but the execution was delayed due to complications. After this, the state temporarily banned all executions.

Smith's lawyers argued that any hiccup in the process of administering nitrogen could expose him to "additional pain" (which they consider cruel). However, Steve Marshall, the state's attorney general, called the concerns raised by the defendant's legal team "speculative." Even the United Nations ruled on the use of nitrogen, calling it torture.

In 1988, Smith (who was 22 years old) was hired by a pastor (Charles Sennett) to kill his wife so he could collect her life insurance. The pastor paid Smith and two others $1,000 to commit the crime. Elizabeth Sennett, 45, was stabbed and beaten to death in her home.