- Kenneth Eugene Smith will be executed tonight in Atmore, Alabama, unless the Supreme Court grants him a reprieve
- Alabama AG says the experimental method of gassing him to death will be painless
- He is afraid he might throw up or hit the table in the used mask
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall stressed today that the controversial nitrogen hypoxia execution scheduled for Kenneth Eugene Smith tonight will be painless and will not make him vomit as he fears.
Smith will be executed tonight at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore at 6 p.m. He has begged for the operation to be called off because he fears the experimental gassing method will cause excruciating pain or make him vomit.
The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a request for a postponement. He filed another request today as the execution neared.
Kenneth Eugene Smith was sentenced to death in 1996 after admitting to killing the wife of a preacher-for-hire, who was beaten and stabbed in 1988.
Elizabeth Sennett, 45, was found dead in the couple’s home in Colbert County, Alabama on March 18, 1988. She had been stabbed eight times in the chest and once on each side of the neck
In response, Marshall said his fears are unfounded.
Citing experts, including euthanasia expert Dr. Philip Nitschke, Marshall said nitrogen hypoxia is a “peaceful” way to end a human life.
Nitschke had testified before Smith’s legal team, which argued that the risks lay in administering gas through a mask.
In rebuttal, Marshall said the state’s mask has been inspected and is tight enough to ensure oxygen doesn’t leak in, prolonging the procedure.
He cited Nitschke’s support for nitrogen hypoxia in assisted suicide as further evidence of how painless the execution will be.
“One of the many problems for Smith was his star witness, Dr. Philip Nitschke, who might as well have been testifying for the state.
“Before joining Smith’s case, Dr. Nitschke said critics of Alabama’s method ‘misrepresented the science,'” Marshall wrote.
Dr. Nitschke – who is also popularly known as ‘Dr. Death’ – said in the past that the method was ‘fast’, ‘effective’, ‘peaceful’ and ‘reliable’.
Kenneth Smith will be executed this week with nitrogen gas, which the UN has labeled “torture” and scientists have largely banned on animal testing
The Alabama Lethal Injection Chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, is pictured in this Oct. 7, 2002 file photo. Kenneth Smith, 58, is scheduled to be executed on Jan. 25, 2024
Elizabeth’s preacher husband Charles Sennett Sr., who was in debt and terrified she would find out
He also dismissed Smith’s fears about vomiting in the mask.
“Smith was grasping at straws and bickering over how nitrogen will be delivered. First, he said the mask is too loose and air can get in. But the state addressed those concerns when it produced the mask.
“Second, Smith said that in the few seconds between gas entering the mask and him losing consciousness, he will vomit and choke. But the court ruled (twice) that Smith’s fears were “speculative,” “theoretical,” and “unlikely.”
‘Smith claimed that he might vomit during the execution because he is experiencing nausea.
However, on cross-examination, Smith’s expert Katherine Porterfield conceded that Smith had not reported vomiting. ‘
He added that if Smith vomits into his mask before the gas is administered, the attending medical team will remove and clean it.
If he vomits into his mask after the gas is released, they won’t intervene.
Smith said this is a “highly theoretical” scenario based on a “cascade of unlikely events.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall says the execution is milder than Smith deserves