Murderer Scheduled to Be Executed With Unconventional Method Triggers Death Penalty Debate

Alabama could become the first state to execute a prisoner by forcing him to breathe in pure nitrogen, a novel method that has never been used.

The gurney in Huntsville, Texas, where Texas's condemned are strapped down to receive a lethal dose of drugs in this May 27, 2008 file photo. AP Photo/Pat Sullivan

Alabama could become the first state to execute a prisoner by forcing him to breathe in pure nitrogen, a novel method that has never been used.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office asked the Alabama Supreme Court in a court filing on Aug. 25 to schedule the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder-for-hire killing of a preacher’s wife in the 1980s.