A death row inmate in Alabama is desperately fighting against a newly approved method of execution that is set to end his life in the upcoming weeks. Kenneth Eugene Smith, a death row inmate since January 1990, is potentially facing execution by a method never before used in the United States: nitrogen hypoxia. The Supreme Court of Alabama, which is entirely composed of Republican members, recently approved Attorney General Steve Marshall's request for Smith's execution to proceed, deciding in a 6-2 vote without any accompanying public statement, according to <a href="https://people.com/alabama-can-execute-inmate-nitrogen-gas-state-supreme-court-8386765">PEOPLE</a>. Although the court's order did not mandate the use of pure nitrogen, court filings reveal that Marshall intends to employ nitrogen hypoxia, as reported by the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alabama-death-penalty-nitrogen-hypoxia-a2d821456a6faef299b2fb5ae68ca069" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. The concept of using nitrogen hypoxia for executions isn't entirely new; it has been sanctioned by legislatures in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. Yet, to date, no state has actually carried out an execution with this method, which replaces the oxygen in a person's lungs with nitrogen. Proponents of nitrogen hypoxia claim that the process is pain-free. However, without any real-world applications of this technique to date, these assertions remain theoretical and untested. If carried out, Alabama's protocol for nitrogen hypoxia requires the inmate to be strapped to a gurney with a mask, funneling nitrogen gas until death is confirmed. <img class="size-large wp-image-1263235284" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-03-at-16.52.43-871x1024.jpg" alt="" width="871" height="1024" />[[imagecaption|| Smith is on death row for the 1988 killing of Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett. Credit: Alabama Department of Corrections.]] In a statement to <a href="https://www.al.com/news/2023/11/alabama-supreme-court-grants-states-request-to-execute-kenneth-eugene-smith-by-nitrogen-hypoxia.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AL.com</a>, Smith’s attorneys, Robert Grass and Andrew Johnson, have now revealed that they are fighting the decision to execute their client via nitrogen hypoxia. Their statement reads: "We are disappointed in this decision and will continue to pursue the enforcement of Mr. Smith’s rights through the judicial process. "It is noteworthy that two justices dissented from this Order. Like the eleven jurors who did not believe Mr. Smith should be executed, we remain hopeful that those who review this case will see that a second attempt to execute Mr. Smith – this time with an experimental, never-before-used method and with a protocol that has never been fully disclosed to him or his counsel – is unwarranted and unjust." Per the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/alabama-death-row-inmate-fights-looming-use-of-new-execution-method-a06b955f?mod=e2li" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wall Street Journal</a>, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) has also issued a statement slamming the decision to move forward with the method. Reps for the non-profit organization said in a statement: "With its record of botched executions, Alabama is the very last state that should be experimenting with an untested method of execution like this one. The truth is that no one — not even Alabama officials — know what will happen when they use nitrogen gas." Additionally, in an article on the <a href="https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/use-of-nitrogen-hypoxia-for-alabama-executions-could-endanger-spiritual-advisors-and-prison-staff-in-the-execution-chamber" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DPIC's official website</a>, they argue that the "use of this untested method may also pose dangers to spiritual advisors and prison staff in the execution chamber." <img class="size-large wp-image-1263235291" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/11/PrisonFI-1024x534.png" alt="" width="1024" height="534" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Instants / Getty]] Additionally, The Equal Justice Initiative - a legal advocacy group that has worked on death penalty issues - has spoken out against the method, stating that Alabama has a history of "failed and flawed executions and execution attempts" and "experimenting with a never before used method is a terrible idea," as cited by <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2023-08-28/alabama-wants-to-be-first-state-to-execute-prisoner-with-nitrogen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ITV</a>. "No state in the country has executed a person using nitrogen hypoxia and Alabama is in no position to experiment with a completely unproven and unused method for executing someone," Angie Setzer, a senior attorney with the Equal Justice Initiative added. Smith, who is currently on death row at William C. Holman Correctional Facility, was convicted for the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett; the culmination of a tragic plot involving her husband, a local minister entangled in an affair, and debt. Smith was one of two men convicted of capital murder for the murder-for-hire killing of a preacher’s wife, Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett. Prosecutors said Smith was paid $1,000 by Charles Sennett, the pastor of the Westside Church of Christ in Sheffield, Alabama in 1988, to forcefully take his wife's life, per <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alabama-nitrogen-execution-kenneth-smith/">CBS News</a>. According to a 2000 decision from the Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama reviewed by PEOPLE, the crime was orchestrated to resemble a botched burglary and Elizabeth Sennett’s brutal death by stabbing was the result of a scheme to claim insurance money. Although the jury initially recommended a sentence of life in prison without parole by an 11 to 1 vote, the judge overruled this, sentencing Smith to death instead. The path to Smith's execution has been fraught with complications. In November of last year, an attempt at lethal injection was abandoned after hours of difficulty, which led to a temporary reprieve as the execution warrant approached expiration. The Alabama officials assured the court they would not attempt lethal injection again for Smith. Now, Attorney General Marshall's push for setting a new execution date using nitrogen hypoxia has been met with both relief and trepidation. On X, the platform previously known as Twitter, Marshall tweeted late Wednesday night, celebrating the Supreme Court's decision and underlining the extensive duration Elizabeth Sennett's family has waited for justice. "Elizabeth Sennett’s family has waited an unconscionable 35 years to see justice served,” Marshall wrote, adding: "Though the wait has been far too long, I am grateful that our talented capital litigators have nearly gotten this case to the finish line." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/AGSteveMarshall/status/1719903117427237055]] The order, which was issued on November 1, does not set a date for the execution, but states that Governor Kay Ivey is to schedule a timeframe within 30 days of the court's decision. Execution by nitrogen hypoxia was first authorized in Alabama in 2018 during a shortage of drugs used to carry out lethal injections, but the state has not employed the method to carry out a death sentence. At the time, the state’s corrections director at the time, Joe Allbaugh, provided some reasoning behind the state's decision to introduce the method, saying: "Trying to find alternative compounds or someone with prescribing authority willing to provide us with the drugs is becoming exceedingly difficult." <h6>Featured image credit: Darrin Klimek/Getty</h6>

Alabama inmate on death row fighting impending execution by newly approved method

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