Alabama Court Approves Execution by Nitrogen Gas for First Time

Death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith to be first American executed via untried nitrogen hypoxia method following Alabama Supreme Court ruling, marking significant shift in execution practices.

Kenneth Eugene Smith, a death row inmate in Alabama, is set to become the first person in the U.S. to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, following a 6-2 decision by the state’s all-Republican Supreme Court.
Smith was convicted of the 1988 murder-for-hire killing of Elizabeth Sennett, the wife of a local minister. He has been on death row since 1990.
The execution procedure forces the prisoner to breathe pure nitrogen, cutting off their oxygen supply. It's a method theorized to be painless but its true effects remain unknown.
Smith previously survived a botched lethal injection attempt in 2022 when multiple attempts to insert an intravenous line failed.
Nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method is authorized in three states: Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. However, no other state has gone forward with this procedure yet.