Alabama Plans First U.S. Execution Using Nitrogen Hypoxia Amid Warnings of Potential Torture

Kenneth Smith, sentenced to death in a controversial case, faces an untested execution method that experts warn could cause severe suffering.

Alabama plans to execute 58-year-old inmate Kenneth Smith using nitrogen hypoxia, a method never before used in the U.S. for capital punishment.
Experts warn that the untested method could cause Smith to suffer a stroke, choke to death on vomit, or be left in a vegetative state.
Smith's execution has been scheduled for January 25, marking the second attempt by the state to execute him after a botched lethal injection attempt in November 2022.
Smith was sentenced to death for his role in a 1988 murder-for-hire plot. His case has been marked by rights violations, including unconstitutional removal of Black jurors and a judge overriding a jury's recommendation against a death sentence.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for the cancellation of Smith’s execution, warning that the state’s intention to kill Smith in this manner could amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.