Alabama's first nitrogen gas execution raises cruelty concerns

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Jan 2024 14:10

Alabama has executed convict Kenneth Smith, marking the first known use of nitrogen gas in capital punishment.

The sun sets in 2022 behind Holman Prison in Atmore, Alabama, where the state executed death row inmate Kenneth Smith using nitrogen gas. (AP)

Alabama has carried out the execution of Kenneth Smith, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. This marks the first-ever use of asphyxiation by nitrogen gas in a United States execution, confirmed by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Thursday.

"Justice has been served. Tonight, Kenneth Smith was put to death for the heinous act he committed over 35 years ago ... Tonight also marked the first time in the nation – and the world – that nitrogen hypoxia was used as the method of execution," Marshall said in a statement.

He further described the execution as a "historic" milestone for Alabama, emphasizing that the use of nitrogen gas has been demonstrated to be both "effective and humane".

"Despite the international effort by activists to undermine and disparage our state's justice system and to deny justice to the victims of heinous murders, our proven method offers a blueprint for other states and a warning to those who would contemplate shedding innocent blood," the statement read.

Smith was declared dead 29 minutes after the initiation of the execution, as stated in the announcement.

Supreme Court rejects stay of execution

The execution proceeded despite a last-minute unsuccessful attempt by Smith's legal representatives to contest the measure in the US Supreme Court. This move persisted despite objections from the United Nations and human rights activists.

Smith's legal team and experts ranging from the United States to the United Nations, have constantly raised concerns about the possibility of complications arising from the nitrogen gas procedure. There are apprehensions that such complications could result in excessive pain or even be tantamount to torture for the inmate.

Earlier in the day, the US Supreme Court rejected a stay of execution for Smith, despite Justices Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Sonia Sotomayor expressing a willingness to halt the execution. Sotomayor dissented from the denial, citing the entirely novel and untested nature of the method used for Smith's execution. She noted that Alabama's protocol was developed only recently and is currently under revision.

UN Human Rights Commissioner expresses alarm over scheduled execution

At the beginning of this month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed alarm over the scheduled execution and called on Alabama authorities to reconsider the decision.

Smith has spent over three decades on death row since his murder conviction in 1988. Initially slated for lethal injection in 2022, the execution could not proceed before the expiration of the execution warrant.

A recent attempt to prevent Smith's impending execution was dismissed by a US judge earlier this month. On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court also refused to intervene and stop the execution.