02 November 2023 , 11:36
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A court has ruled a death row inmate can be executed with nitrogen gas - a previously untried form of execution in the US.
The all-Republican Alabama Supreme Court said yesterday in a 6-2 decision that Kenneth Eugene Smith can be put to death using this method. The execution date, not yet set, will be ordered by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey.
The method of nitrogen hypoxia - the inhalation of pure nitrogen to starve the body of oxygen and cause death - can now be used in a state with currently 164 inmates on death row. Alabama has become the third state to approve its use behind Oklahoma and Mississippi, but it has not yet been used.
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Smith killed Elizabeth Sennett in 1988 (Find a Grave)Smith was sentenced to death for the murder-for-hire killing of Elizabeth Sennett in Alabama’s Colbert County in 1998. Sennet was left with multiple stab wounds in her chest and neck.
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“Elizabeth Sennett’s family has waited an unconscionable 35 years to see justice served. Today, the Alabama Supreme Court cleared the way for Kenneth Eugene Smith to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall wrote. “Though the wait has been far too long, I am grateful that our capital litigators have nearly gotten this case to the finish line.”
Previously, Smith's layers said Alabama was attempting to make their client a "test subject" for the execution method. Under the proposed method, the inmate would be forced to breathe only nitrogen, depriving them of oxygen needed to maintain bodily functions and causing them to die. Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air inhaled by humans and is harmless when inhaled with oxygen
Nitrogen death is highly controversial, with some arguing that it could be painless, while others liken it to human experimentation. Joel Zivot, an associate professor at the Department of Anesthesiology at Emory University School of Medicine has told The Mirror that introducing the method has nothing to do with less cruelty in the process.
Nitrogen death is highly controversial, with some arguing that it could be painless. Others say it amounts to experimentation (Sygma via Getty Images)Professor Zivot said: "Alabama is trying to execute with nitrogen gas, not because it thinks lethal injection is cruel, but because it has been increasingly difficult to carry out lethal injection for a series of technical reasons related to chemical and equipment deficiencies and personnel incompetence."
But he added: "The US Constitution prohibits punishment that is cruel. I have seen no commentary from Alabama State Corrections on how this proposed method of nitrogen gas execution would lack cruelty. Further, the court has been unable to define or recognise cruelty in virtually any method of execution ever used."
The professor further explained: "Nitrogen gas is inert and incapable of supporting cellular metabolism, unlike oxygen." However, the professor said that 'nitrogen hypoxia' is not an actual medical procedure but a made-up term the Alabama authorities are using.
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