Kenneth Smith’s nitrogen execution was ‘textbook’ and will be used again, Alabama AG says: updates
Attorney General Steve Marshall said that after Thursday night, ‘nitrogen hypoxia as a means of execution is no longer an untested method. It is a proven one’
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Alabama death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith has been executed by nitrogen gas – making him the first person in US history to be put to death through the controversial method.
Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at 8.25pm CT on Thursday at the William C Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, almost three decades after he was convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire plot of Elizabeth Sennett.
His religious adviser Reverend Jeff Hood, who witnessed the execution, told reporters what he saw was a man “struggling for their life” for a staggering 22 minutes.
The White House condemned the execution on Friday. “It is very troubling to us as an administration. It is very troubling to us here at the White House,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Alabama authorities insist the execution went to plan, despite predicting the untested method would lead to unconsciousness within seconds and death in minutes.
But, witnesses said Smith appeared conscious for several minutes, shaking and writhing on the gurney.
“We didn’t see somebody go unconscious in 30 seconds,” said Rev Hood. “What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life.”
Smith’s death came after the US Supreme Court denied a final, 11th-hour bid to stay of execution. The ruling received dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor who wrote that the state had selected Smith as a “guinea pig” by using the untested method.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said that 43 more death row inmates have elected to die by nitrogen hypoxia. People incarcerated on death row are able to chose their preferred method from electrocution, lethal injection or nitrogen hypoxia.
“What occurred last night was textbook,” AG Marshall said. “As of last night, nitrogen hypoxia as a means of execution is no longer an untested method. It is a proven one.”
Human rights organisation blasts ‘lie’ that execution was humane
Human rights organisation Reprieve has blasted the “lie” that the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith was humane.
Reprieve US Director Maya Foa said in a statement to The Independent following the execution:
“They said lethal injection was humane – that was a lie. They’ll claim this execution was humane, and that is a lie, too.
“The whole purpose of these methods is to hide pain. How many more prisoners must die agonizing deaths before we see executions for what they really are: the state violently taking a human life?”
Which states allow nitrogen gas executions?
To date, three states have approved the use of nitrogen gas for executions of death row inmates.
Those states are Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi.
However, neither Oklahoma or Mississippi have ever used the execution method.
Alabama, which adopted the method in 2018, became the first to use it when Kenneth Eugene Smith was put to death on Thursday 25 January.
‘There was shock at how violent the execution was'
Lee Hedgepeth, one of the few journalists who witnessed Kenneth Eugene Smith’s execution, has spoken out to say that there was “shock in the room at how violent the execution was”.
“I’ve been to four previous executions and I’ve never seen a condemned inmate thrash in the way that Kenneth Smith reacted to the nitrogen gas,” he told the BBC’s Newsday programme.
“Kenny just began to gasp for air repeatedly and the execution took about 25 minutes total.”
UN human rights chief condemns execution of Kenneth Smith
Witnesses say Kenneth Smith’s execution did not go as planned
At a news conference after the execution, Smith’s spiritual advisor, Jeff Hood, said the state’s execution did not go as planned according to court documents Alabama filed in opposition to legal challenges by the prisoner’s attorneys this week.
“Anybody that witnessed this knows that we didn’t see someone go unconscious in two or three minutes. We didn’t see someone go unconscious in 30 seconds. What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life.”
Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm said that gas was flowing into Smith’s mask for about 15 minutes and appeared to downplay the prisoner’s reaction at a separate news conference, saying that his reaction was not different to what had been expected.
“What we saw was minutes of someone heaving back and forth,” Mr Hood said.
Alabama AG says 43 other death row inmates have elected to use nitrogen hypoxia
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said at least 43 other inmates have elected to use nitrogen gas as an execution method.
There are now 165 people on death row in the state. Death row inmates are able to choose their method of execution from electrocution, lethal injection or nitrogen hypoxia. Mr Marshall said the majority of the elections happened after the state Legislature approved nitrogen hypoxia for executions in 2018.
Based on feedback he’s received, the AG has said that he expects other states to follow suit with the new execution method. So far, only Mississippi and Oklahoma have also approved it. Despite concerns and reports that Smith had been “writhing and thrashing” during the execution, the AG maintained that nothing out of the ordinary took place Thursday night.
At the news conference, the AG expressed frustration due to the focus on reporters’ questions about whether Smith’s execution was humane and not on Elizabeth Sennett, who Smith was convicted of murdering.
“The majority of the questions we’ve had here today have dealt with Mr Smith,” he said. “We cannot lose sight of the fact that a woman was brutally murdered. Taken from her family and that’s the reason why the state of Alabama had to act last night,” the AG continued, raising his voice.
“Let’s remember her legacy and her life as much as we remember the person who took her away from us.” At several points during his remarks, Mr Marshall referred to Smith’s death as justice for Ms Sennett’s family but expressed remorse about the amount of time it took.
Speaking after the execution, one of the woman’s sons said Smith had been incarcerated almost twice as long as he knew his mother.
More human rights organisations condemn Kenneth Smith execution
“The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and accounts of Kenneth Smith’s last moments simply show that there is no humane way to take someone’s life,” Amnesty International USA said following the execution.
“It is high time for those in power to stop trying to fix the failed experiment that is the death penalty. Instead, they should devote all resources and focus on alternatives that would more effectively address crime at its roots and protect human rights. We call on the Alabama authorities to immediately establish a moratorium on all executions as a first critical step towards abolition.”
The American Civil Liberties Union agreed.
“Mr. Smith should have never been killed, let alone in such a gruesome manner,” said the organisation’s Deputy Legal Direction Yasmin Cader. “Alabama’s execution of Kenneth Smith in a horrific, reckless, and untested manner is a profound illustration of the barbaric practice of capital punishment.”
Kenneth Smith ‘vindicated’ jury decision to spare his life while in prison
Kenneth Smith “vindicated” a previous jury decision to spare his life while in prison, having worked hard to become and stay sober and earning an associates degree through studying, his lawyers have said.
A statement from law firms Arnold & Porter and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, highlighted Smith’s work to help other inmates during his time behind bars.
“We are deeply saddened that the state of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Corrections have executed Kenneth Eugene Smith. During his incarceration, Kenny vindicated the jury’s judgment when it voted 11-1 to spare his life that Kenny’s life had value despite the crime for which he was convicted,” the statement read.
“He worked to become and stay sober. He found and sincerely practiced his faith. He studied and earned an associate’s degree. He developed his artistic skill and would have made a very fine lawyer under different circumstances.
“He helped other inmates whom he considered his brothers to achieve sobriety and with other personal problems and he maintained loving relationships with his wife, mother, siblings, children, grandchildren, and other family and friends.”
The statement continued: “Nothing can undo the tragic consequences of the actions for which he was convicted, including the pain of the Sennett family and friends.
“Kenny’s life, however, should be considered in its full context.Kenny was subject to the death penalty only because his trial judge applied a since-repealed Alabama statute to override the jury’s 11 to 1 determination that his life should be spared – a practice that not only is unavailable under current Alabama law but also has since been declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court.
“There currently are efforts in the Alabama legislature to ensure that inmates like Kenny, who are on death row only because a judge overrode a jury’s measured determination to spare their lives, won’t suffer the same fate that he did today.
“Unfortunately, those efforts, if successful, will be too late for Kenny.”
Kenneth Smith’s final words revealed by witness
Kenneth Smith told his family he loved them and condemned the state of Alabama in his final words, a reporter who witnessed his execution has said.
According to Lee Hedgepeth, after the death warrant authorising Smith’s execution was read, he was asked to give any last words.
“Tonight, Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards,’ he reportedly said, before addressing his family and friends.
“I’m leaving with love, peace, and light. Thank you for supporting me. I love all of you.”
Mr Hedgepeth reported that the nitrogen gas – Smith’s chosen method of execution – had then been turned on to which Smith had reacted “vigourously”. Mr Hedgepeth said that it was “the most violent execution I have ever witnessed”.
Kenneth Smith’s pastor: Corrections officials ‘were visibly surprised at how bad this thing went'
Kenneth Eugene Smith’s spiritual adviser has claimed that even the Alabama corrections officials in the room were clearly shocked by what they saw as the inmate was put to death by nitrogen asphyxia.
Prior to Smith’s execution – using a never-before-used method, the state said that they expected him to fall unconscious in seconds and die within minutes.
Multiple witnesses and members of the media have revealed that was not the case.
“We also saw corrections officials in the room who were visibly surprised at how bad this thing went,” said Reverend Jeff Hood at a press conference after the execution.
“I know that [Alabama DOC] Commissoner Hamm, that ADOC is gonna come out and say well this is what we thought would happen, but look at their court filings... this is not what they thought would happen.”
He added: :I think that anybody that witnessed this knows that we didn’t see someone go unconscious in two or three seconds... We didn’t see somebody go unconscious in 30 seconds.”
The pastor urged: “We have to make sure this never, ever happens again.”
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