How nitrogen gas kills: Untested execution method that’s too cruel for animals will be used TOMORROW on an Alabama hitman in world-first

Tomorrow, the first-ever execution with nitrogen gas will take place in America, using a method so cruel and painful that the UN calls it torture.

58-year-old Alabama hitman Kenneth Smith was sentenced to death for killing a woman on behalf of her pastor husband in 1988 and was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in November 2022, but survived after it went wrong.

Alabama – one of only three states to have legalized nitrogen executions – ruled that Mr. Smith would be put to death via nitrogen instead.

Although the state calls the method “humane,” experts say it can cause excessive pain and humiliation, warning he could be left in a vegetative state rather than die, or he could choke on his own vomit.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has ruled that the execution method is too cruel to use on most animals because the suffocation process is too “harrowing” for some species.

And United Nations officials said it could violate human rights treaties banning “torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

The new execution will be carried out between 2 a.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. central time Friday, during which legal teams will have the chance to file a last-minute appeal.

Similar to a lethal injection, Mr. Smith is searched and secured with shackles around his arms and legs before being led by guards to the execution chamber.

He is then strapped to a stretcher and unable to move any of his limbs. Mr Smith will then have a mask fitted to his face known as a ‘Type-C full face mask with air supply’.

This is a type of mask that is usually used in industrial environments to administer oxygen. In Mr. Smith’s case, he will be forced to breathe pure nitrogen.

The warden will read the death sentence and ask Mr. Smith if he has any last words. He will then leave the room and activate ‘the nitrogen hypoxia system’.

The state claims it would take a few seconds for the gas to render Mr. Smith unconscious and between five and 15 minutes to kill him.

In theory, the process should be painless.

A report from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board states that breathing “an oxygen-poor atmosphere” can render a person unconscious after just one or two breaths and that “the exposed person has no warning and cannot feel that the oxygen level is too high is. too low.’

The method should prevent the conditions that cause the feeling of suffocation – the build-up of carbon dioxide from not being able to exhale that causes people to panic.

Experts say that someone breathing in pure nitrogen can still exhale carbon dioxide and not feel like they are being suffocated.

If all goes according to plan, Mr. Smith will black out within seconds as the gas prevents oxygen from reaching his brain. He may even feel a little euphoric during this process, and his vision will fade.

Since he is deprived of vital oxygen, his cells will begin to die and his organs will fail within 15 minutes.

“After the nitrogen gas is introduced, it will be administered for 15 minutes or five minutes following a flat indication on the ECG, whichever is longer,” Alabama state procedures read.

State officials said, “There is simply not enough evidence to determine with any degree of certainty or probability that execution by nitrogen hypoxia under the Protocol is substantially likely to cause additional pain to Smith.”

But U.S. and international veterinarians generally do not recommend nitrogen for euthanizing mammals.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals said in its 2013 guidelines: ‘Current evidence indicates that this method is unacceptable because animals may experience painful side effects before losing consciousness.’

The American Veterinary Medical Association came to a similar conclusion in its 2020 guidelines.

Not all experts agree that nitrogen gassing is a painless method; some say it can still cause the painful feeling of choking.

And Mr Smith’s legal lawyers say using a one-size-fits-all mask means it is not airtight.

An inadequate deal could cause oxygen to leak through the mask, causing a prolonged, painful death.

They warned that he could also have a stroke or seizure or enter a vegetative state instead of dying.

Even brain cells deprived of oxygen for a few minutes may never recover, leaving the patient brain dead but still technically alive.

A doctor testifying on Mr Smith’s behalf also said that a low oxygen environment could also cause nausea, causing him to choke on his own vomit, which the UN called “humiliating” and “degrading”.

This also poses a risk to everyone in the room, including Mr. Smith’s spiritual advisor, who plans to remain in the room to perform his client’s last rites.

The counselor, Rev. Jeff Hood, said he had to sign a waiver acknowledging the risk he could be exposed to nitrogen.

The Alabama Department of Corrections document requires him to maintain a distance of at least three feet “from the mask or from any outflow of breathing gases coming from the system.”

The waiver also noted that it was possible, although “highly unlikely,” that the tubing supplying the gas to Mr. Smith’s mask could become loose and that “an area of ​​free-flowing nitrogen gas could be created, which would create a small risk area (approximately two (2) feet) from the outflow.”

If Reverand Hood has nitrogen poisoning, he may have difficulty breathing, coughing, and wheezing.

Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist who was one of four professionals who filed a complaint with the UN, said: “(The workers) could start hyperventilating because their bodies would detect that they are in an environment with little oxygen.”

‘And that severe hyperventilation can lead to a stroke.’

“It’s so telling that they just have no idea, and they’re going to try to kill him in a way that could kill other people.”

“They are not realistic about what exactly is at stake here.”

The protocol also does not specify how the oxygen will be stored to prevent contamination.

Alabama’s plan to go ahead with the execution has drawn widespread criticism.

Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office, said: “We are deeply concerned that the execution of Smith under these circumstances could violate the prohibition on torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as his right to effective remedies.”

“These are rights enshrined in two international human rights treaties to which the US is bound.”

“It is concerning that this is gaining ground as an execution method.”

In a press release, the UN said: ‘We are concerned that nitrogen hypoxia would result in a painful and humiliating death.’

Reverand Hood criticized the team for their previous failed execution.

“This is the most inept, unqualified and unprofessional execution team in the country. And they think they’re going to be the ones to solve this nitrogen hypoxia without any problem?’ he said.

“Currently, Kenny is feeling nauseous, in pain, and in shock from the upcoming nitrogen hypoxia experiment.”

“Kenny faces the torture of uncertainty through all of this. I think it is as cruel and unusual as any punishment in human history.”

“I want my boys to always know that what happens to them is bad. It’s not right.’

Smith was sentenced to death for his role in the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett.

According to court records, her husband, a pastor named Charles Sennett Sr., hired someone who enlisted Mr. Smith and another person to kill Mrs. Sennett and make it look like a burglary.

In 1996, a jury recommended that Mr. Smith be sentenced to life in prison without parole for his role in the murder plot. However, a judge overturned the verdict and imposed the death penalty.

In November 2022, the state attempted to kill Mr. Smith with a lethal injection.

Normally, a trio of three drugs in a lethal injection works to stop an offender’s heart. The first is an anesthetic, which renders them unconscious. A second drug then paralyzes them, while a third causes their heart to stop beating.

If everything goes according to plan, this will take about five minutes.

However, Mr Smith’s execution was botched and he told Mail Online last year that it caused excruciating pain as executioners tried to insert a drip into several veins.

Mr Smith is just one of two people to survive lethal injection and is the only one still alive.