The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a stay of execution for an Alabama death row inmate who was scheduled to be executed by nitrogen gas.
Alabama plans to execute death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, by nitrogen hypoxia on Thursday. The controversial method has never been used in the United States, and Smith said the sentence should not be carried out because the state could botch the process after the first failed execution. he claimed.
“The application for a stay of execution of the death sentence presented to Justice (Clarence) Thomas and referred to the court by him is denied,” the high court's dismissal states.
Gallup report finds Americans increasingly believe the death penalty is carried out “unfairly”
Kenneth Eugene Smith was convicted of murder in the 1988 murder of a preacher's wife. He is scheduled to become the first American inmate to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia. (Alabama Department of Corrections, via AP, File)
No righteous person will publicly oppose it.
Smith is scheduled to be executed for the 1988 murder of a preacher's wife, Elizabeth Sennett, who was stabbed multiple times. Her husband, Charles Sennett Sr., committed suicide while the investigation focused on him as a suspect.
Smith's murder accomplice, John Forrest Parker, was convicted of murder and executed in 2010. Mr. Smith was nearly executed by lethal injection in November 2022, but his procedure failed.
His lawyers said Alabama was trying to use him, who survived the state's previous execution by lethal injection, as a “guinea pig” for an untried method of execution. They argued in court filings that a second attempt to put Smith to death amounted to double jeopardy.
During the execution, a respirator-like mask will be placed over Smith's nose and mouth. Breathable air is gradually replaced by nitrogen gas, and inmates die from lack of oxygen. In theory, there should be no pain associated with not being able to breathe.
(Alabama Department of Corrections, via AP | AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
The state predicted in court filings that the gas would render the inmate unconscious within seconds and that he would die within minutes.
Critics of the untested method say the state can't predict what will happen and it's unclear what Smith will feel after the warden turns on the gas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
