Smith was sentenced to death in 1988 for the murder-for-hire murder of Elizabeth Sennett, a pastor’s wife.
Alabama:
The White House said Friday it was “deeply troubled” by the first execution in the United States using nitrogen gas, an untested method that has also been condemned by the United Nations and the European Union.
The southern state of Alabama executed convicted murderer Kenneth Smith, 58, on Thursday by pumping nitrogen gas into his facemask, suffocating him.
“The use of nitrogen gas – that’s troubling to us,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. “We are very troubled by this.”
Executions have recently been carried out by lethal injection in the United States but Alabama and two other states – Oklahoma and Mississippi – have authorized the use of nitrogen gas.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Friday defended the decision to execute Smith via nitrogen asphyxiation, saying the execution was carried out in a “professional manner.”
“We will certainly have more nitrogen hypoxia executions in Alabama, I believe the number is 43,” Marshall told reporters. There are currently none scheduled for this year.
After being given nitrogen gas, Smith “began to writhe and writhe for approximately two to four minutes, followed by heavy breathing for approximately five minutes,” local news outlet AL.com reported.
Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm said it appeared Smith was “holding his breath as long as possible” and was making “involuntary movements” and gasping.
‘Cruel, inhumane’
UN human rights chief Volker Turk, the European Union and US civil liberties groups expressed concern over the manner of Smith’s execution, which has reignited debate about the use of the death penalty.
“This new and unused method of suffocation with nitrogen gas may constitute torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” Turk said.
Raveena Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the United Nations human rights office in Geneva, said Smith was “clearly a victim.”
Shamdasani said, “Instead of using such unused methods to carry out executions, let’s abolish the death penalty.” “It’s an anachronism that doesn’t apply in the 21st century.”
A spokesman for the 27-member European Union, which opposes the death penalty, condemned the execution method, calling it “particularly cruel and unusual punishment.”
Yasmin Cader of the American Civil Liberties Union said Smith “should never have been killed, let alone in such a horrific manner.
Cadre said, “It is time that instead of abolishing the death penalty in our country, new and more heinous ways of implementing it should be invented.”
White House spokesman Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden suspended federal executions after taking office.
“The president has long said, and has, deep, deep, deep concerns about how the death penalty should be implemented and whether it is consistent with our values,” he said.
‘Go back’
Smith was sentenced to death in 1988 for the murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Sennett, a clergyman’s wife.
He and an accomplice, John Parker, were each paid $1,000 to kill Sennett. Parker was executed by lethal injection in 2010.
Smith faced a failed execution attempt in November 2022 when prison officials were unable to set up intravenous lines to administer the lethal injection.
The US Supreme Court rejected his appeal to stay the execution at the last minute.
According to the local CBS affiliate, Smith’s last words on Thursday were, “Tonight, Alabama forced humanity to take a step back.” “I leave with love, peace and light.”
The last execution using gas in the US was in 1999 when a convicted murderer was put to death using hydrogen cyanide gas.
There were 24 executions in the United States in 2023, all by lethal injection.
Speaking to reporters after the execution, Elizabeth Sennett’s son Mike said it was a “bitter-sweet” day for his family, because “nothing that happened here today will bring Mom back.”
According to a recent Gallup poll, 53 percent of Americans support the death penalty for a person convicted of murder, the lowest level since 1972.
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 states, while the governors of six others – Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee – have banned its use.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
