[News Terms] US First Execution by 'Nitrogen Gas Death Penalty'

Authorities: "Better than the actions the murderer did to the victim"
Observing Pastor: "Struggled to survive" vs Bereaved Family: "Realization of justice"

'Nitrogen gas execution' is a method of execution in which nitrogen gas is injected into a respirator covering the face of the death row inmate, causing death by hypoxia. The duration of nitrogen gas inhalation is chosen as the longer of either 'at least 15 minutes' or '5 minutes after the heart stops beating.'

According to AP News and others, the judicial authorities in Alabama, USA, executed death row inmate Kenneth Smith (58) by nitrogen gas on the 25th (local time).

Mario Maraciti, a death penalty expert from Sant'Egidio, a Catholic charity under the Vatican, held a press conference in Rome, Italy, on the 23rd (local time) urging the suspension of nitrogen gas executions. The face shown on the screen above is Kenneth Smith (58), who was executed by nitrogen gas.
[Photo by AP/ Yonhap News]

Smith was pronounced dead 22 minutes after the execution began. He appeared conscious for several minutes, experienced convulsions for at least 2 minutes, then breathed heavily before stopping breathing.

The primary method of execution in the United States has been lethal injection since its introduction in 1982, and this is the world's first case of execution carried out using an inert gas like nitrogen. In the U.S., three states?Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi?permit execution by nitrogen gas.

Smith was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering a pastor's wife along with accomplices in 1988 for $1,000 (approximately 1.34 million KRW) paid by the pastor. The pastor who orchestrated the murder committed the crime after falling deeply into debt and targeting his wife's insurance money, and later took his own life when the investigation closed in. The accomplice John Forrest Parker was executed by lethal injection in June 2010.

Alabama attempted to execute Smith by lethal injection in November 2022 but halted the execution after failing to find a suitable vein for the injection. As a result, Smith became one of two inmates in the U.S. to survive an attempted lethal injection execution. Authorities changed the method for this execution.

Earlier, religious groups and human rights organizations strongly opposed the news of Smith's nitrogen gas execution. On the 23rd, Sant'Egidio, a Catholic charity under the Vatican, held a press conference in Rome urging the halt of nitrogen gas executions and warned that if not stopped, they would call for a 'Boycott Alabama' campaign targeting European companies and tourists. Mario Maraciti, an expert on the death penalty at Sant'Egidio, warned, "German car company Mercedes-Benz has a factory in Alabama, and many Europeans visit the southern U.S. for golf," adding, "Europe's trade and investment with Alabama amount to hundreds of millions of dollars annually."

[Image=Pixabay]

Additionally, four UN human rights special rapporteurs, including Maurice Tivolbins, issued a statement on the 3rd pointing out that execution by nitrogen gas could cause very painful and humiliating deaths. They raised concerns about potential violations of international treaties prohibiting torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishments.

Smith's legal team also filed an injunction requesting Alabama to halt the execution, arguing that Smith was being used as a cruel experiment for a new execution method, but the U.S. Supreme Court rejected it on the day of execution, the 25th. Alabama judicial authorities carried out the execution without delay.

The Alabama state government maintained the position that "this treatment is far better than what Smith did to the victim," referring to the victim Smith murdered in 1988. Initially, authorities expected that consciousness would be lost within seconds and death would occur within minutes after nitrogen gas injection.

Immediately after the execution, Steve Marshall, Alabama Attorney General, claimed, "Execution using nitrogen gas was an effective and humane method of execution, and its effectiveness has been proven." However, Pastor Jeff Hood, who counseled Smith, said, "(Smith) did not lose consciousness within 30 seconds. What we saw was him struggling to survive for several minutes."

In response, Alabama correctional authorities rebutted that Smith's convulsions were involuntary movements. John Q. Hamm, Director of the Alabama Department of Corrections, emphasized, "All of this was expected and corresponds to side effects we have seen or studied. Nothing deviated from what we anticipated."

The victim's family expressed that justice was served. The son of the woman murdered by Smith stated, "Nothing that happened here today (at the prison) can bring my mother back," and added, "Elizabeth Sennett, who passed away, saw justice done today."