Alabama Schedules Nation's First Execution by Nitrogen Gas for January 2024

Kenneth Smith, Convicted in 1988 Murder-for-Hire, to be First Inmate Executed Using Nitrogen Hypoxia, Amid Controversy and Legal Challenges Over Unprecedented Method

Kenneth Smith has been scheduled to be executed via nitrogen hypoxia in Alabama on January 25, 2024, marking the first use of this method for capital punishment in the United States.
Smith, aged 58, was convicted alongside another man for a 1988 murder-for-hire scheme initiated by Reverend Charles Sennett, who paid them each $1,000 to kill his wife, Elizabeth Sennett, to collect insurance money.
The decision to use nitrogen hypoxia comes after a failed attempt to execute Smith via lethal injection in November 2022. The execution was halted due to difficulties in establishing a suitable intravenous line before the execution deadline.
Smith’s attorneys have filed a lawsuit arguing that using their client as the first subject for nitrogen hypoxia execution, which they label as 'novel and experimental,' is unjust. They note that 11 out of 12 jurors recommended a life sentence rather than the death penalty during Smith's trial.
Opponents of the nitrogen hypoxia method argue that it constitutes human experimentation and state officials do not know if it is safe. The procedure would involve the inmate breathing only nitrogen, depriving them of the oxygen needed to stay alive.