Current:Home > NewsAlabama presses effort to execute inmate by having him breathe pure nitrogen. And the inmate agrees.-LoTradeCoin
Alabama presses effort to execute inmate by having him breathe pure nitrogen. And the inmate agrees.
View Date:2024-12-24 00:07:29
Montgomery, Ala. — Alabama is seeking to become the first state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe pure nitrogen.
The Alabama attorney general's office on Friday asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date for death row inmate Kenneth Smith. Alabama plans to put him to death by nitrogen hypoxia, an execution method that is authorized in three states but has never been used.
Nitrogen hypoxia is caused by forcing inmates to breathe only nitrogen, depriving them of oxygen and causing them to pass out and die, according to the theory. Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air inhaled by humans and is harmless when inhaled with oxygen.
Critics have likened the untested method to human experimentation.
Alabama authorized nitrogen hypoxia in 2018 but the state hasn't yet attempted to use it to carry out a death sentence. Oklahoma and Mississippi have also authorized nitrogen hypoxia.
Alabama has been working for several years to develop the execution method but has disclosed little about the proposal. The attorney general's court filing didn't disclose the details of the how the execution would be carried out. Corrections Commissioner John Hamm told reporters last month that a protocol was nearly complete.
Smith's execution by lethal injection was called off last year because of problems with intravenous lines. Smith was convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher's wife.
Prosecutors said Smith was one of two men who were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett on behalf of her husband, who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance. The slaying, and the revelations over who was behind it, rocked the small north Alabama community.
A number of Alabama inmates, including Smith, in seeking to block their executions by lethal injection, have argued they should be allowed to die by nitrogen hypoxia. The disclosure that the state is ready to use nitrogen hypoxia is expected to set off a new round of legal battles over the constitutionality of the method.
"It is a travesty that Kenneth Smith has been able to avoid his death sentence for nearly 35 years after being convicted of the heinous murder-for-hire slaying of an innocent woman," Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement.
- In:
- Death Penalty
- Capital Punishment
- Executions
veryGood! (79596)
Related
- Up to 20 human skulls found in man's discarded bags, home in New Mexico
- Russian drone attack kills 7 in Odesa, Ukraine says
- West Virginia bus driver charged with DUI after crash sends multiple children to the hospital
- JetBlue and Spirit abandon their decision to merge after it was blocked by a judge
- Craig Melvin replacing Hoda Kotb as 'Today' show co-anchor with Savannah Guthrie
- Supreme Court says Trump can appear on 2024 ballot, overturning Colorado ruling
- Kennedy Ryan's new novel, plus 4 other new romances by Black authors
- 'He just punched me': Video shows combative arrest of Philadelphia LGBTQ official, husband
- Demure? Brain rot? Oxford announces shortlist for 2024 Word of the Year: Cast your vote
- Biden administration asks Supreme Court to block Texas from arresting migrants under SB4 law
Ranking
- Early Week 11 fantasy football rankings: 30 risers and fallers
- JetBlue and Spirit abandon their decision to merge after it was blocked by a judge
- On front lines of the opioid epidemic, these Narcan street warriors prevent overdose deaths
- New lawsuit blames Texas' Smokehouse Creek fire on power company
- Powerball winning numbers for Nov. 13 drawing: Jackpot rises to $113 million
- What time do Super Tuesday polls open and close? Key voting hours to know for 2024
- Teen Mom's Jenelle Evans and Husband David Eason Break Up After 6 Years of Marriage
- Tumble-mageddon: Tumbleweeds overwhelm Utah neighborhoods, roads
Recommendation
-
'Underbanked' households more likely to own crypto, FDIC report says
-
California man is first in the US to be charged with smuggling greenhouse gases, prosecutors say
-
TikTokers Campbell Pookie and Jeff Puckett Reveal the Fire Origin of Her Nickname
-
Kacey Musgraves calls out her 'SNL' wardrobe blunder: 'I forget to remove the clip'
-
Beyoncé's Grammy nominations in country categories aren't the first to blur genre lines
-
Californians to vote on measure governor says he needs to tackle homelessness crisis
-
See how much the IRS is sending for the average 2024 tax refund
-
A record on the high seas: Cole Brauer to be first US woman to sail solo around the world