Sen. Tommy Tuberville ‘hopes’ Alabama killer Kenneth Smith has ‘smoother’ execution by controversial nitrogen gas than previous botched lethal injection
- This is the first time nitrogen hypoxia has been used as a method of capital punishment in the US
- There are 24 states that implement the death penalty and 23 states that have abolished the practice
- Kenneth Smith, the man about to be killed, survived his last execution attempt
Sen. Tommy Tuberville sent well wishes to an Alabama man who survived his latest attempt at the death penalty and will undergo a never-before-used execution method Thursday.
Kenneth Smith, a 58-year-old convicted murderer whose 2022 lethal injection was called off at the last minute because authorities could not connect an IV line for 90 minutes, will be executed Thursday evening in a south Alabama prison.
“Apparently the other option didn’t work,” Alabama Senator Tuberville said of Smith’s earlier execution attempt. “I hope it does this time.”
“I don’t know why it’s so hard to figure that out,” he told DailyMail.com. “I just hope things go a lot smoother this time.”
Nitrogen asphyxiation is an experimental method deemed too cruel for most animals by veterinarians and compared to torture by the United Nations.
Smith is one of two men convicted of the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett. Prosecutors said he and the other man were paid $1,000 each to kill Sennett on behalf of her pastor husband, who was deeply in debt and lacking insurance wanted to collect.
Smith, seen here, was convicted in 1988 of murdering a preacher’s wife for hire
Senator Tuberville of Alabama said he “hopes” today’s execution will go “smoothly.”
Smith and his accomplice, John Parker, were both convicted of her murder, and Parker was executed in 2010.
The new method of implementation is called nitrogen hypoxia. The state plans to attach a breathing mask to Smith’s face and pass nitrogen gas through the tube until he dies. He will die of hypoxia or lack of oxygen.
The execution will be the first attempt to use a new execution method since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982, now the most common execution method in the United States.
Smith will be strapped to a gurney in the same room where his last botched execution took place.
Per state protocol, a “full-face air-supplied mask” will be placed over Smith’s face, administering the gas for at least 15 minutes.
Alabama’s lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore is pictured in this Oct. 7, 2002 file photo
As of January 2024, there are 24 states that use the death penalty and 23 states that do not, while another three states have a moratorium on it
The state has predicted that the nitrogen gas will cause unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes.
Smith’s lawyers on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution to review claims that the new method violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment and deserves more legal scrutiny before using it on a person.
However, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Wednesday evening that he believes the courts will allow the execution to proceed.
A prosecutor told the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that this will be “the most painless and humane method of execution known to man.”
The execution is expected to begin at 6:00 PM local time, but could be postponed due to legal action or preparations. The state has until 6 a.m. Friday to carry out the execution.