His lawyers went to the Supreme Court – without success. Kenneth Eugene Smith was executed with the help of nitrogen, the first death row inmate in the USA. The method causes horror beyond the borders of the USA.
For the first time in the USA, a person sentenced to death has been executed using a new nitrogen method. 58-year-old Kenneth Eugene Smith was executed on Thursday evening (local time) in a prison in the US state of Alabama using so-called nitrogen hypoxia, as Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall announced. This method was used for the first time not only in the USA, but worldwide, explained Marshall. Human rights experts had previously expressed serious concerns. However, all attempts by the man’s lawyers to stop the execution were unsuccessful.
The execution took place in a prison in the small town of Atmore in the southern part of the state. During the procedure, the affected person is supplied with nitrogen via a face mask – the result is death due to lack of oxygen. According to Marshall, it lasted less than 30 minutes. A law enforcement official said Smith was partially twitching and breathing abnormally. But that was expected. Smith was convicted of murder.
Pastor describes minute-long ordeal
However, the priest who was present at the execution, Jeff Hood, described that correctional officers in the room were visibly surprised at “how badly things were going.” Smith was not unconscious within seconds. “What we saw was minutes of someone fighting for their life,” Hood said. Smith squirmed, spat and repeatedly jerked his head forward – the mask was attached to the execution table.
United Nations experts believe it has not been scientifically proven that inhalation of pure nitrogen does not cause serious suffering. After Smith’s execution, the UN human rights office warned against the spread of this method. “We are sounding the alarm bells because this may constitute a form of torture in violation of human rights,” said UN human rights spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani in Geneva. There are fears that this will now be accepted as a method of execution.
$1000 for a contract killing
In 1988, at the age of 22, Smith became involved in a contract killing. The victim was the client’s wife, who took her own life a week after the crime. Smith and two accomplices were caught – one received a life sentence and died in prison in 2020, the other was executed by lethal injection in 2010.
Smith admitted in his trial that he had been present at the time of the crime, but claimed that he had not taken part in the fatal attack. After an appeal, the jury actually recommended a life sentence for him in 1996, but the judge responsible overruled this at the time. Alabama only abolished the law that allowed this in 2017 – the last US state to do so.
A failed execution attempt
Like his accomplice, Smith was actually supposed to be executed by lethal injection. But prison staff were unable to insert the necessary cannula into his arm in 2022. After several hours of lying strapped on the execution table, he was taken back to his cell.
In the USA, executions using lethal injection repeatedly fail or drag on for hours. Because the US Association of Physicians and Nurses (AMA) prohibits its members from participating in executions, executions are sometimes not carried out by adequately trained specialist personnel. In addition, many pharmaceutical companies block the use of their medications or the equipment required for injections – including the German company Fresenius Kabi. A legal dispute has been raging for years over the question of the extent to which the US Food and Drug Administration should be involved.
However, US states in which death sentences are still carried out can avoid bottlenecks and licensing issues by purchasing the poison cocktails from so-called compounding pharmacies. These are not regulated at the federal level – and have made headlines in the past due to a lack of hygiene.
Relatives: Debts have been paid
Relatives of the woman who was killed in the 1988 contract killing had reacted with incomprehension to the debate about Smith’s possible suffering. After the execution, one of her sons said, “Nothing that happened here today will bring Mom back, nothing.” His family has forgiven all three perpetrators. But he also emphasized: “The Bible says that evil actions have consequences. Kenny Smith made some bad decisions 35 years ago. His debt was paid tonight.”
Only a few media representatives were allowed to observe the execution, including a reporter from the regional television station WHNT. According to her, shortly before his death, Smith said: “Tonight, Alabama made humanity take a step back.” And further: “I walk with love, peace and light.”
In company with China, Iran and Saudi Arabia
The death penalty still exists in the United States today in the military, at the federal level and in 27 states, although in fact it is no longer carried out everywhere. The approved methods vary from state to state. By far the most common method is execution by lethal injection. Nitrogen hypoxia is only permitted in the states of Oklahoma and Mississippi other than Alabama. The method has never been used there before.
The human rights organization Amnesty International recorded at least 883 executions in 20 countries in 2022. The death penalty was carried out most frequently in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the USA – in that order. In 2023, 24 death sentences were carried out in the United States, and Smith’s execution on Thursday was the first this year.
Guardian WAAY message Marshall PK relatives Amnesty International PK Pastor Fresenius