Massive criticism of the first execution with nitrogen in the USA

For the first time in the USA, an inmate has been executed through the use of nitrogen. International criticism of the method is growing. Now the US government was also concerned.

Kenneth Smith is said to have spoken his last words at around 7:55 p.m. local time on Thursday evening. He was pronounced dead half an hour later in a prison in Alabama, John Hamm, the state’s corrections chief, said in a news conference.

Smith, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for taking part in a contract killing, was the first person in the world to be executed in this way. Nitrogen was supplied to him through a mask on his face until he suffocated from lack of oxygen.

“Smith held his breath as long as he could. He struggled a little against his restraints, there was some involuntary movements and unsteady breathing. This was all to be expected and is one of the side effects we have studied with nitrogen hypoxia,” Hamm described the execution process.

Pastor criticizes execution as torture

Smith’s spiritual advisor, the Rev. Jeff Hood, was there. He, in turn, said corrections officers in the room were visibly surprised that Smith did not pass out within seconds. He told CNN that he saw “someone fighting for their life for minutes.”

Hood was initially at a loss for words. He has never seen anything so “incomprehensibly evil.” That was torture.

EU and UN warn against nitrogen method

Kenneth Smith’s lawyers had tried until the very end to stop the 58-year-old’s execution – both in the relevant courts in Alabama and in the Supreme Court of the USA. The EU and the United Nations also condemned the execution as a “particularly cruel method” and warned that it was becoming more widespread.

The US government has also expressed “concern” about the use of chemical substances to carry out a death sentence. The death penalty gives President Joe Biden “a cause for concern,” said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre.

In addition to Alabama, inmates in the US states of Mississippi and Oklahoma could also “opt” for this type of execution, Attorney General Steve Marshall told CNN. Whether states “offer” this method depends on the authorities there. He suspects that other states will do this. According to Marshall, there are 43 other people on death row in Alabama alone who have already decided on the method themselves.

Execution by lethal injection failed

Kenneth Smith was supposed to be executed by lethal injection two years ago. However, the prison staff were unable to insert the necessary cannula for him at the time.

At the age of 22, Smith was involved in the contract killing of Elizabeth Sennett. Her son Michael said after the execution that nothing that happened would bring his mother back. It was “a bittersweet day, but not one to celebrate.” The victim’s family is happy that it is finally over.