Alabama to Execute Inmate with Controversial Nitrogen Hypoxia Method

Kenneth Eugene Smith, who survived a botched lethal injection, faces execution by an untested method amid international concern and legal battles.

Kenneth Eugene Smith, a death row inmate in Alabama, is scheduled to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, a controversial and untested method that forces death by oxygen deprivation.
Smith survived a botched lethal injection in 2022, leading Alabama to opt for nitrogen hypoxia, a method only authorized in three states: Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.
Smith's lawyers argue that the use of nitrogen hypoxia is inhumane and akin to human experimentation, with potential for significant error and prolonged suffering.
Alabama's Attorney General's office defends the method, calling it 'the most painless and humane method of execution known to man.'
The United Nations has expressed concern over the method, arguing it could cause pain and suffering, potentially breaching the prohibition on torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.