Alabama could become the first state to perform an execution by nitrogen gas. If the plan goes as expected, the state will put Kenneth Smith, a convicted killer, to death with the new method.
However, experts have raised concerns over the safety and compliance of the procedure with the constitution. A lack of sufficient knowledge about the procedure largely fuels these fears.
The state’s published document explaining the technique contains lots of concealed sections. Experts complain that these redactions dangerously shield crucial aspects from public scrutiny.
Reacting to the concerns, the state claimed that the redactions were a usual security measure. Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, is still unconvinced about the procedure.
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“This is a protocol that has been created out of whole cloth,” she told the press. “There’s no precedent for it,” she continued. “There’s no testing of this procedure. No one knows how it’s going to occur.”
The Death Penalty Information Center is a death penalty watchdog that scrutinizes how states carry out executions.
Another expert spoke to reporters about his concerns. “It’s not that nitrogen gas won’t kill you,” said Dr. Joel Zivot, an associate professor of anesthesiology and surgery at Emory University. “But will it kill you in a way that will comport with the constitutional requirement that it not be cruel and it not be torture?”
The little that people know about the procedure is that it replaces oxygen with nitrogen. The subject will then find breathing difficult as nitrogen fills their mask. In this case, the subject could be Smith.
The courts sentenced Smith to death for the 1988 killing of one Elizabeth Sennett. After 35 years of delay, Smith will likely go down with his name in the history books.
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Alabama had attempted to execute Smith in 2022 by lethal injection. But the state aborted the plan. Officials failed to set an intravenous line before the expiration of the execution warrant.
Alabama, along with two other states, Mississippi and Oklahoma, had already approved the nitrogen execution before the botched lethal injection execution. Learning about the new method, Smith had requested it for his execution. However, officials refused to honor his request.
After the failure of his execution by lethal injection, Smith again requested death by nitrogen gas. This time, state authorities granted his wish and set plans in motion.
In an unexpected turn, Smith tried to opt out of the plan afterward. He cited the risk of “superadded” pain and the possibility of developing a stroke or falling into a vegetative state if the procedure failed.
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But a ruling by a federal judge gave the state the go-ahead. The judge stated that “there was simply not enough evidence” to back up Smith’s fears.
Alabama governor Kay Ivey has announced that the state is “ready to go” with the nitrogen hypoxia technique. Ivey, who has allowed only Smith’s lawyers to see the unredacted copy of the procedure, is confident of a positive outcome.
She boasted about the method being “thoroughly vetted.” She also announced that the Alabama Department of Corrections and the Attorney General’s office have given their go-ahead.
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