The psychiatric adviser to the first man in the United States to be executed with nitrogen gas said prison staff could not hide their shock at the “horror show” unfolding before their eyes.
“The shock and surprise on their faces was obvious,” Pastor Jeff Hood told the Post.
Hood described the 22-minute death of Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, at Alabama's W.C. Holman Correctional Facility as something out of a horror movie.
“They were told this was quick and easy and painless. They went on to say that this was the most humane way society had ever come up with to execute people.
“The whole thing was horrifying. It's a scene that will never leave me. Some [Smith’s] The struggle seemed made for Hollywood.
“If you hadn't taken me there and told me I was at the execution site, I would have thought I was on a movie set, some kind of horrible creation running amok,” he said. said.
Smith was sentenced to death for his role in the 1988 commissioned murder of a preacher's wife, Elizabeth Sennett. He spent more than 30 years behind bars before being executed using the controversial method of nitrogen hypoxia.
The case gained national attention after Smith survived a failed attempt to end his life with lethal injection in November 2022. After hours of attempts, doctors were unable to find a vein to inject the deadly drug cocktail and the attempt was called off.
Hood said that from his vantage point inside the execution chamber, he had a bird's-eye view of prison staff watching Smith die.
He noticed unmistakable changes in the facial expressions and body language of staff members, including correctional officers and Alabama Department of Corrections Regional Director Cynthia Stewart-Riley.
“It's hard to know what's what in a situation like that, but I can tell you what I saw in terms of the fear that showed on the faces of the people in front of me,” Hood said. Told.
“As the execution began and he began to struggle, it was noticeable that the staff began to move,” he continued.
“He looked like a fish out of water, flapping his wings over and over again. [Stewart-Riley] He was behind the stretcher on the right side. She was so upset and nervous that I kept tapping her leg. “It's like when something interrupts her and she gets fidgety and can't sit still,” he said, adding that the sound of her tapping her shoes nervously was “like.” tap dance. “
The Alabama DOC did not respond to The Post's request for comment.
Hood said he heard gasping sounds through the glass in the execution chamber as the execution began.
“It's hard to know what's what in a situation like that, but I can tell you what I saw in terms of the fear on the faces of the people in front of me.”
He said that as the seconds and minutes passed, the expressions on the faces of the prison staff who witnessed the execution changed from relaxed, casual expressions to “very tense, very tense” expressions. .
“There's no question they were affected” by what they witnessed, Hood said.
According to the Associated Press, Smith appeared to remain conscious for several minutes during the more than 20-minute execution.
The execution was already controversial because previous attempts had failed and it was the first time hydrogen gas had been used to take the life of an inmate.
“I'm still suffering from the first execution and now I'm doing it again. They won't even let me get post-traumatic stress disorder,” Smith said. told the Guardian Early this week.
After the execution, Alabama Department of Corrections Director John Q. Ham said, “There was nothing unusual about what we expected,'' a statement that Hood strongly objected to.
“I think he's a liar. [Alabama Attorney General Steve] Marshall said the same thing. they are liars. They said all along that this would happen almost instantly. That he would lose his consciousness within seconds and be gone. “What we saw last night was a horror show that lasted for minutes and minutes,” the spiritual advisor said.
After the press conference following the execution, Mr. Hood said he had had the opportunity to speak with Elizabeth Sennett's family, who he said were “very kind.”
“We had a really good conversation. It felt like a moment of real humanity. Obviously we had big differences. They want the death penalty and we don't.” But they were very obviously concerned about Kenny's family and other people involved. I think that says a lot about who they are,” Hood said.
“Everyone wants us all to hate each other, but we were all brutalized throughout the process.”
