On Wednesday, a federal judge in the United States granted the State of Alabama permission to carry out the country's first execution of a prisoner accused of murder using nitrogen gas.
On January 10th, District Judge Robert Hovacker of Central Alabama rejected the challenge of prisoner Kenneth Smith, 58, against the state's use of nitrogen gas for his execution.
Nitrogen hypoxia occurs when a person is forced to breathe pure nitrogen, depriving them of oxygen, leading to death. Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air humans breathe and is harmless when inhaled with oxygen.
The Attorney General's Office of Alabama, headed by Steve Marshall, stated in court filings that oxygen deprivation "would cause unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes."
Marshall added in a statement, "Smith has evaded the death penalty for over 35 years, but today's court rejection of Smith's speculative claims removes an obstacle finally allowing justice to be served."
Last week, four United Nations experts expressed their concerns about Smith's impending execution, warning that such an untested method could subject him to cruel and inhuman treatment amounting to torture.
In their joint statement issued on January 3rd, the four independent UN observers urged the US government and Alabama to halt the execution. They wrote, "We are concerned that nitrogen hypoxia might lead to a painful and humiliating death."
Smith's defense team has filed a lawsuit against the State of Alabama, arguing significant risks associated with the proposed method. They contend that a broken seal on the mask could allow oxygen to enter, compromising the execution process and potentially causing a stroke or leaving Smith in a permanent vegetative state.
Smith's lawyers plan to appeal the ruling, scheduled for execution on January 25th, before the US Supreme Court, arguing that the state is attempting to make him a "test subject" for an untried execution method.
The attorneys also argue that the gas mask, fitted over Smith's nose and mouth, would impede his ability to pray aloud or make a final statement before witnesses in his last moments.
Should the appeal be dismissed, Smith will become the first person in America to be executed using nitrogen gas.
In 1996, a jury recommended a life sentence with a 11-to-1 majority vote, but the judge overruled the recommendation and sentenced Smith to death after convicting him of "murder for hire" of a woman in Alabama.
Smith was one of two men convicted in 1988 for the murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Sennett, 45, on behalf of her debt-ridden preacher husband who sought to collect on insurance. The other man, John Forrest Parker, was executed in 2010.
Prior to announcing the resumption of lethal injection executions in June 2022, the state had initiated an internal review of its execution procedures.
On November 17th, 2022, the state attempted to execute Smith by lethal injection but abandoned the attempt after four hours due to officials' failure to access a vein.
In an effort to halt his execution, Smith argued that lethal injection constitutes cruel and unusual punishment and proposed an alternative death by gas, specifically inhaling pure nitrogen.
On May 15th, 2023, the US Supreme Court sided with him, meaning Smith will become the first person executed by gas and possibly the first to successfully challenge his method of execution through judicial process.
Alabama has constructed a gas chamber in 2021 after legislators suggested death by gas would be more humane than lethal injection.
Following a European ban preventing pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs for use in executions, the US faces difficulty acquiring barbiturates, nervous system depressants used in lethal injection protocols.
To address this dilemma, some US states, including Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, have turned to reviving older execution methods, such as nitrogen gas.
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas is a toxic air pollutant, and exposure can irritate the eyes and respiratory system. Long-term exposure can lead to cardiovascular diseases.
Execution methods varied throughout history, including burning, dismemberment, and being drawn and quartered, with limbs tied to horses that ran in different directions, ripping the body apart—a method prevalent in medieval Europe.
Modern execution methods range from hanging, shooting, electrocution, lethal injection, toxic gas chambers, stoning, and decapitation by sword.
