Atmore, Alabama The first execution in history by nitrogen gas took place when 58-year-old convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith was put to death. Smith had been sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher’s wife in 1988, where he was paid just $1,000 for the hit. His execution in the visitor witness room at William C. Holman prison lasted around 22 minutes and was described as a horrific and painful ordeal by his spiritual guide, Jeff Hood.
Smith’s execution marks the first time a new method has been used on America’s death row since lethal injections were first introduced 42 years ago. The Alabama Attorney General’s office praised the method of execution as “effective and humane”. However, the execution drew mixed opinions, with some feeling that Smith’s crime in 1988 was worthy of his place on death row.
The process of the execution was detailed by witnesses who described Smith’s struggle as the nitrogen gas was released into the gas mask. The witnesses’ accounts of Smith’s agony directly oppose the narrative put out by Alabama officials, who considered it a step forward for safe death row justice. The historic execution divided opinions, including among Supreme Court justices, who voted 6-3 to allow the procedure to go ahead. The untested method was previously branded as ‘torture’ by the UN.
Convicted of the murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher’s wife in 1988, Smith was paid just $1,000 for the hit. Describing the feeling of the nitrogen gas being released into the gas mask and observing Smith’s struggle as being more violent than any lethal injection he had witnessed, one of the few journalists to see Smith put to death, Lee Hedgepeth, spoke about his experiences and Smith’s wife Deanna’s emotional response.
Maya Foa, director of human rights organization Reprieve, expressed her concerns over the use of the untested execution method, claiming that both lethal injection and nitrogen gas execution methods fail to recognize the torture inflicted on the individual. The apparent victory lap taken by Alabama officials in the wake of the execution, with Governor Kay Ivey also dubbing it ‘closure’ sparked backlash from opponents of the new approach.
Smith’s execution was met with a mixture of reactions and emotions, but according to Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, it was a step towards closure for the family of the victim. The execution method, however, was condemned by human rights groups, with concerns raised about the pain and cruelty experienced by the condemned individual. Despite the controversies and divided opinions, the execution marked a significant moment in the history of the American justice system.