A federal judge has ruled Alabama can proceed with the planned execution of an inmate using nitrogen gas later this month, despite objections from the man’s lawyers that the method is “cruel and experimental.”
Kenneth Eugene Smith was one of two men convicted for the 1988 murder of a preacher’s wife. Prosecutors successfully argued the two men were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett on behalf of her husband, who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance. John Forrest Parker, the other convicted man, was executed for the crime in 2010.
Judge Huffaker acknowledged that while nitrogen hypoxia is a new method, lethal injection, which is commonly used all over the country, was also once new. He concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to support the argument that nitrogen hypoxia would “cause Smith superadded pain short of death or a prolonged death.”
An Appeal Is Currently Pending
Robert Grass, an attorney acting for the condemned, said he would appeal the judge’s decision. Attorneys acting for Smith have argued the new protocol is riddled with unknowns and potential problems and violates a constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Under the proposed execution method, a face mask is placed over the condemned person’s face, which replaces breathable air with nitrogen, causing death by suffocation. Proponents have theorized it would be painless. Opponents have likened it to human experimentation, including the United Nations, who have warned killing an inmate with an untested method could be considered cruel and inhuman treatment amounting to torture.
“Smith has avoided his lawful death sentence for over 35 years, but the court’s rejection today of Smith’s speculative claims removes an obstacle to finally seeing justice done.”
Smith has already survived a prior attempt to execute him. The Alabama Department of Corrections tried to execute him by lethal injection in 2022 but failed when authorities couldn’t connect two intravenous lines.
