state of Alabama (southern United States) Executed prisoner Kenneth Eugene Smith by asphyxiating him with nitrogen gas this ThursdayA method that has never been tried before. Smith, who was sentenced to death for murdering a rent woman in 1988, was announced to have died at 20:25 local time (02:25 GMT Friday) after inhaling nitrogen gas through a mask and running out of oxygen. His last words, already wearing the mask, were: “Tonight Alabama is making humanity take a step back. Thank you for your support. I love you all”.
Journalists who were eyewitnesses to the execution reported seeing Smith writhing for several minutes after the gas began flowing, and then breathing heavily for several more minutes. Alabama Department of Corrections Director John Hamm said at a press conference later that the inmate’s shaking was “involuntary” but not unusual. Nitrogen gas flowed for approximately 15 minutes.
United States Supreme Court Minutes before execution, he rejected the last resort The prisoner’s defense was presented this Thursday by 6 votes against 3, thus giving the green light to the start of the procedure. Progressive Justice Sonia Sotomayor, one of three who voted to stay the execution, said, “After failing to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama chose him as a ‘guinea pig’ to test a never-before-seen execution method.” said. used”.
Since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, 1,583 inmates have been executed in the United States, including 73 in Alabama.