1y ago

Kenneth Eugene Smith: US inmate faces first nitrogen execution after losing last-minute appeals

www.bbc.com /news/world-us-canada-68089279

An Alabama death row inmate is expected to become the first person in the US to be executed with nitrogen gas, after losing last-minute appeals.

The US Supreme Court and a lower appeals court declined to block what Kenneth Eugene Smith's lawyers called a "cruel and unusual" punishment.

Opponents say using nitrogen could cause unnecessary suffering, and a leak could harm people present in the room.

Smith, 58, was convicted in 1989 of murdering Elizabeth Sennett.

Alabama has 30 hours to carry out the execution, which involves pumping nitrogen gas through a mask, from Thursday at 0600 GMT (0100 ET).

14 comments

Beat a lady to death with another guy using fire place pokers as a contract killing for $1,000 in 1988. approximately $2,500 today.
How is that even remotely worth it from his perspective?
- Free housing and food for the last 35 years adds up to a lot more than the $2500.
  
  Free housing and food for the last 35 years
  What, are you interested in moving in?
  
  Shitty conditions. Want a free beating? I'll give you two.
- How is that even remotely worth it from his perspective?
  Lead poisoning, that's how.
He ded now
A nitrogen leak could harm people in the room? Do they realize that Earth's atmosphere is about 78% nitrogen and they breathe that much in with every breath? As long as there is fresh air going to the room and it's not a huge Nitrogen leak, how would a leak hurt anyone?
- By displacing oxygen like it's doing for the execution.
I wanna know. Do people tend to try fighting when they're brought in for execution? Maybe they just walk in and let it happen? Is there video of the fighting?
Smith's "spiritual advisor", Reverend Jeff Hood...is a manipulative idiot. Not uncommon in the religious community.
"It's absolutely a terrifying thing to think that your life hangs in the balance with these guys." Incorrect, he forfeited his life back in 1988 with the murder, they're trying to finally carry out the death sentence. Nothing in 2024 is "hanging in the balance".
[Jeff Hood] requested that Alabama's Governor Kay Ivey be present in the chamber during the execution to demonstrate her confidence in its safety, but had not received a response. "We have somebody who is championing this type of execution in the governor and yet she is unwilling to get her hands dirty," No...no, Gov. Kay Ivey probably has better things to do than go out of her way to watch a man condemned to die, die. Acting like the governor of a whole-ass state needs to be brought to heel at the command of some random-ass, nobody preacher. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 Please. How insulting is that?

14 comments