Overview

• Kenneth Eugene Smith, convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire case, is scheduled for execution in January by nitrogen hypoxia, marking the nation's first use of this method.
• Smith's attorneys argue that the execution method violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment and interferes with his ability to pray with his spiritual adviser.
• Anesthesiologists and state officials testified during a daylong hearing, focusing on the risk of vomiting, what Smith might experience, and what could happen if he were not to receive pure nitrogen due to a faulty mask fitting.
• Dr. Robert Jason Yong, an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School, testified that low oxygen can result in nausea and vomiting, creating a risk of choking on aspirated vomit. He also said that if a person is exposed to less than 100% nitrogen, there is a risk they could experience the sensation of suffocation or be left in a vegetative state instead of dying.
• The Alabama attorney general's office called these risks speculative and argued that the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment is not a guarantee against any pain.