Alabama has announced it will use nitrogen gas in an upcoming execution. This would make the state the first to use such a method as officials struggle with a shortage of lethal injection drugs. Legal challenges are on the horizon as the matter is under consideration.
While Alabama is eager to use nitrogen, details of the protocol remain under wraps, with some information on how the process works being kept from the public. Death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith noted his lack of access to unredacted state protocols that explain how the process works, alongside other inmates under the sentence.
In addition to the novelty of Smith’s case, he is also a rare survivor of a failed execution attempt from last year. Smith, convicted for his role in the 1988 murder of a preacher’s wife, Elizabeth Sennett, remains awaiting execution with the proposed nitrogen method set for January. In light of unsuccessful attempts to execute Smith using lethal injection, the state agreed to try an alternative method.
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Although lethal injection remains Alabama’s primary method of execution, the state authorized the use of nitrogen in 2018 and aims to use it in Smith’s case. With many questions remaining and the state’s questionable track record, critics argue that the decision to use an untested method won’t win public trust.
This month, Smith’s lawyers argued before a federal judge that the use of nitrogen hypoxia violates the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. An anesthetist testifying on Smith’s behalf expressed concerns about possible adverse effects on Smith’s health, such as vomiting, suffocation, or going into a vegetative state.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
