UN Experts Urge Halt to Alabama's Planned Execution by Nitrogen Gas

Execution would be the first of its kind in the world, raising concerns over potential 'grave suffering' and torture

United Nations experts have called for a halt to the planned execution of Alabama prisoner Kenneth Smith by nitrogen gas, a method they say could cause 'grave suffering' and may be considered torture.
Smith, convicted of murder in 1996, is scheduled to be executed on January 25. This would be the first execution by nitrogen gas in the world.
Alabama first attempted to execute Smith in November 2022 via lethal injection, but the procedure was botched when officials failed to insert the intravenous line into his vein.
Smith's lawyers have argued that a second execution attempt could violate his constitutional rights and that he has not yet exhausted all his avenues of appeal.
Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi are the only U.S. states that have authorized nitrogen gas as a method for execution, but none have used it before.