January 24, 2024
Alabama pushes on with nitrogen hypoxia execution
Alabama pushes on with nitrogen hypoxia execution of death row killer Kenneth Eugene Smith despite expert’s warning about ‘agonizing’ gas that will cause him to thrash against gurney.
Kenneth Eugene Smith will be executed tomorrow night in Atmore, Alabama. Experts warned against the nitrogen hypoxia method he asked for. Now, he is asking for a stay in execution; Alabama AG is pushing forward.
Alabama is pushing forward with the nitrogen hypoxia execution of death row murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith despite fears from experts that it will be a slow, ‘agonizing‘ end to his life.
Smith is due to be executed tomorrow at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. He will have a mask placed over his mouth and nose that will pump the lethal gas into him for 15 minutes.
In 1988, Smith and another man stabbed Elizabeth Sennett, 45, to death in a brutal killing that was orchestrated by her preacher husband. He was paid $1,000 to carry out the murder.
It will be the first execution of its kind in the US and is the result of a botched, previous attempt to execute Smith with the lethal injections. Nurses couldn’t find a clear vein to inject him with the fluid, and were forced to give up before the execution warrant expired.
One assisted suicide expert fears Smith could die a very painful death.
Kenneth Eugene Smith was sentenced to death in 1996 after admitting the murder-for-hire killing of a pastor’s wife who was beaten and stabbed in 1988
Kenneth Eugene Smith was sentenced to death in 1996 after admitting the murder-for-hire killing of a pastor’s wife who was beaten and stabbed in 1988.
Prosecutors said Smith and John Forrest Parker were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett for husband Charles Sennett Sr., who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance.
Prosecutors said Smith and John Forrest Parker were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett for husband Charles Sennett Sr., who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance.
Smith and his team requested the nitrogen hypoxia execution as an alternative and it was agreed. Now, he has asked for a stay in execution, citing experts’ fears and a UN effort for it to be called off.
But Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall says it’s the treatment Smith deserves for the heinous murder he committed 36 years ago.
In a response to Smith’s Supreme Court application for a stay in execution, Marshall said: ‘Kenneth Smith is scheduled to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, perhaps the most humane method of execution ever devised.
‘Such treatment is much better than Smith gave Elizabeth Sennett nearly thirty-six years ago. Smith and an accomplice tricked Elizabeth into letting them into her home, only to stab her eight times in the chest and twice in the neck—all to make a quick buck.
‘Now Smith says his execution will be cruel and unusual because fourteen months ago, he was “stabbed” with a needle to obtain IV access during a prior execution attempt.
Philip Nitschke, Kenneth Smith & Robert Grass, Holman Prison, 13 December 2023
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall says the execution is more gentle than Smith deserves
‘Smith’s application for a stay should be denied,’ he wrote.
The experimental method is so grim that the American Veterinary Medical Association ruled it was too ‘distressing’ to be used when euthanizing animals in 2000.
Dr. Philip Nitschke, an assisted suicide expert who uses the gas in his ‘euthanasia pods’, has also warned of how unpleasant it will be for Smith.
‘I feel anxious about Kenny, and I just don’t know which way things are going to go,’ Nitschke told The New York Times.
He says that while nitrogen hypoxia is suitable in chambers, the fact Smith will be wearing a mask poses the possibility of oxygen leaking in and prolonging the procedure.
Rev. Jeff Hood, Smith’s spiritual confidante, told the Times he expects he will thrash against the gurney.
‘This is not going to be a peaceful experiment. I think it’s important for people to realize, when you strap someone down like that, you can’t expect someone who’s choking to death — suffocating to death — to not resist,’ he said.
The Supreme Court is yet to rule on Smith’s last minute application for a stay.