Alabama is set to make history by becoming the first state in the United States to execute an inmate using nitrogen gas. Kenneth Eugene Smith is scheduled to be suffocated to death by this method at the end of the month. Smith was convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of a preacher’s wife. The Alabama Supreme Court, in a 6-2 decision, granted the state’s request for an execution warrant, allowing for Smith to be executed by nitrogen gas. The method involves covering Smith’s face with a mask and flowing nitrogen gas into it for at least 5 to 15 minutes until his heart stops.
Smith has been on death row since 1996, and this will be the second time the state has attempted to impose the death penalty on him. The first attempt via lethal injection failed in November 2022, prompting a lawsuit from Smith, who claimed that his experience during the attempted execution was agonizing. He requested to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative method, but then later argued against it as well.
Despite Smith’s attempts to delay his execution, U.S. District Judge Austin Huffaker has ruled in favor of the state, stating that there is not enough evidence to find that execution by nitrogen hypoxia under the protocol is substantially likely to cause Smith superadded pain. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall welcomed the decision, stating that it removes an obstacle to finally seeing justice done in the heinous murder-for-hire slaying of Elizabeth Sennet.
The right to appeal the decision remains open to Smith, and if allowed, his execution could be left to the U.S. Supreme Court to decide. As of now, the window for Smith’s execution is between 2 a.m. on January 25th and 6 a.m. on January 26th.