Controversy led to the execution of a prisoner in Alabama, United States, which took place on the night of Thursday, January 25, 2024. The UN condemned the execution with nitrogen gas on the morning of Friday the 26th and the European Union deplored what happened.

The executed prisoner is Kenneth Smith, who was sentenced to death in 1988 for the contract murder of a woman.

On January 16, the United Nations Human Rights Office had asked the state of Alabama to “halt the execution of the first person sentenced to death for nitrogen hypoxia, a new method that, the agency warns, could amount to torture or other treatment.” cruel, inhuman or degrading,” EFE reported.

Smith was convicted of the 1988 murder of a pastor’s wife, Elizabeth Sennett.

The state of Alabama executes a prisoner with nitrogen gas for the first time in the US

Painful death of an Alabama inmate

The head of the Alabama Department of Corrections, John Hamm, described what happened, according to what was published in 20 Minutes: Smith’s death was “painful.”

Smith’s execution lasted about 22 minutes and the prisoner remained conscious for a while, Spanish media reported. However, Univision Noticias said he was dying for 32 minutes.

Hamm went into otherwise chilling details: “Smith held his breath as long as he could. He then struggled a bit with his restraints, there were some involuntary movements (spasms) and painful breathing. “That was all to be expected.”

At the time of the execution, his wife, his son and an evangelical minister were present.

According to EFE, journalists who were eyewitnesses to the execution reported that after the gas began to flow, Smith… It was running for a few minutes. and then he was seen breathing heavily for several minutes.

Kenneth Smith survived a lethal injection in 2022

What is nitrogen hypoxia?

The EFE agency explained what this new execution method is.

Nitrogen hypoxia “is a procedure in which nitrogen, pure or in a concentration high enough to be fatal, is inhaled to the point of asphyxiation. The prisoner receives it through an airtight mask.”

Alabama is said to have concealed some details of the public protocol, which showed that technicians had to verify that the volume of gas in the cylinder exceeds the minimum acceptance threshold.

According to a document, when nitrogen is used in executions, the presence of a spiritual advisor in the so-called “death chamber” would not be allowed unless the latter has signed a consent regarding possible risks.

Texas executed a man who had been on death row for more than thirty years for murder and robbery

Refusal to execute

This is the first case where nitrogen gas has been used, compared to lethal injections, the method traditionally used in the United States for the past half century, EFE recalls.

“Instead of looking for new, never-proven methods to execute people, the death penalty must end. “We are facing an anachronism that is not typical of the 21st century,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for UN human rights chief Volker Türk.

In Alabama, authorities believe nitrogen hypoxia is a more humane method of execution, but critics call it cruel.

Shamdasani previously called on the state of Alabama not only to stop Smith’s execution, but also to “refrain from carrying out such executions in the future.”

Last message from the prisoner

According to the ‘road map’, the prisoner would be equipped with a pulse oximeter that shows the level of oxygen saturation in the blood. He would, EFE said, have the opportunity to make a final speech of no more than two minutes and the administration of the nitrogen itself would last no longer than fifteen minutes.

BBC discussed the farewell message from Smith, who was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. local time

“Tonight, Alabama is making humanity take a step back,” Smith said, according to witnesses. “Thank you for your support. I love you all.”

(JO)