Kenneth Smith’s nitrogen execution was ‘textbook’ and will be used again, Alabama AG says: updates
Attorney General Steve Marshall said that after Thursday night, ‘nitrogen hypoxia as a means of execution is no longer an untested method. It is a proven one’
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Your support makes all the difference.Alabama death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith has been executed by nitrogen gas – making him the first person in US history to be put to death through the controversial method.
Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at 8.25pm CT on Thursday at the William C Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, almost three decades after he was convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire plot of Elizabeth Sennett.
His religious adviser Reverend Jeff Hood, who witnessed the execution, told reporters what he saw was a man “struggling for their life” for a staggering 22 minutes.
The White House condemned the execution on Friday. “It is very troubling to us as an administration. It is very troubling to us here at the White House,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Alabama authorities insist the execution went to plan, despite predicting the untested method would lead to unconsciousness within seconds and death in minutes.
But, witnesses said Smith appeared conscious for several minutes, shaking and writhing on the gurney.
“We didn’t see somebody go unconscious in 30 seconds,” said Rev Hood. “What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life.”
Smith’s death came after the US Supreme Court denied a final, 11th-hour bid to stay of execution. The ruling received dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor who wrote that the state had selected Smith as a “guinea pig” by using the untested method.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said that 43 more death row inmates have elected to die by nitrogen hypoxia. People incarcerated on death row are able to chose their preferred method from electrocution, lethal injection or nitrogen hypoxia.
“What occurred last night was textbook,” AG Marshall said. “As of last night, nitrogen hypoxia as a means of execution is no longer an untested method. It is a proven one.”
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Full story: Alabama execution: Kenneth Smith killed by nitrogen gas in first death row case of its kind
Convicted murderer Kenneth Smith thrashed violently and repeatedly gasped for air during a 22-minute execution as he became the first inmate to be put to death with nitrogen gas.
The 58-year-old was strapped to a gurney and fitted with a mask and a breathing tube that controlled the gas, slowly depriving him of oxygen, at William C. Holman prison in Atmore, Alabama last night.
Moments before the execution, he said “I’m leaving with love, peace and light”, before turning to his family and signing the words “I love you”.
Journalists inside the room described how Smith appeared to struggle as he was put to death. Lee Hedgepeth said: “I’ve been to four previous executions and I’ve never seen a condemned inmate thrash in the way that Kenneth Smith reacted to the nitrogen gas.
Read the full story:
Kenneth Smith executed by nitrogen in controversial death row case
The convicted murderer is the first person in the world to be killed using the new method
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights calls for moratorium on death penalty
In a statement shared by the United Nations, High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk called for a “moratorium” on the death penalty, following the execution of Kenneth Smith.
It comes after witnesses reported that Smith’s execution – using nitrogen gas – on Thursday evening, did not go to plan and that he “struggled for his life” for several minutes, rather than falling immediately unconcious.
Mr Truk said in a statement: “I deeply regret the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama despite serious concerns this novel and untested method of suffocation by nitrogen gas may amount to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
“The death penalty is inconsistent with the fundamental right to life. I urge all States to put in place a moratorium on its use, as a step towards universal abolition.”
IN PICTURES: Anti-death penalty protesters outside the Alabama prison
Anti-death penalty activists place signs along the road heading to Holman Correctional Facility:
Anti-death penalty activists protest outside the Atmore prison ahead of the execution:
Co-founder and executive director of Death Penalty Action Abraham Bonowitz outside the penitentiary:
WATCH: Pastor reveals horrors of Kenneth Smith’s execution
Why was Kenneth Eugene Smith on death row?
In 1988, Smith was convicted of murdering Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett in a murder-for-hire plot in Colbert County, Alabama.
Sennett was the wife of Church of Christ pastor Charles Sennett, who allegedly paid Smith and another man $1,000 to kill his spouse.
The pastor was allegedly deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance from her death, according to court documents.
Sennett was killed in a brutal attack inside her home.
She was beaten by a fireplace implement and stabbed 10 times in the chest and neck, her death staged to look like a home invasion and burglary.
In 1989, Smith was sentenced to death for capital murder, but it was overturned on appeal in 1992.
A jury then sentenced him to life without parole by a vote of 11 to one.
But Smith ultimately wasn’t spared a death sentence, as a judge overruled the jury and handed him the death penalty for a second time in 1996.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall reacts to Smith’s death
“Justice has been served. Tonight, Kenneth Smith was put to death for the heinous act he committed over 35 years ago: the murder-for-hire slaying of Elizabeth Sennett, an innocent woman who was by all accounts a godly wife, a loving mother and grandmother, and a beloved pillar of her community,” The AG said in a written statement.
“I ask the people of Alabama to join me in praying for Elizabeth’s family and friends, that they might now better be able to find long-awaited peace and closure.
Smith’s death also marked the first time anywhere in the world that nitrogen hypoxia, the process of slowly depriving a prisoner of oxygen using a fitted mask, was used. The AG described the event as “something historic.”
He said activists “don’t care that Alabama’s new method is humane and effective, because they know it is also easy to carry out.
“Despite the international effort by activists to undermine and disparage our state’s justice system and to deny justice to the victims of heinous murders, our proven method offers a blueprint for other states and a warning to those who would contemplate shedding innocent blood.”
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey claims Smith ‘got what he asked for’ after execution
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey released a statement following Smith’s execution, in which she claimed the death row inmate “got what he asked for” with his controversial, nitrogen gas execution.
Read her statement in full:
“On March 18, 1988, 45-year-old Elizabeth Sennett’s life was brutally taken from her by Kenneth Eugene Smith.
“After more than 30 years and attempt after attempt to game the system, Mr Smith has answered for his horrendous crimes.
“The execution was lawfully carried out by nitrogen hypoxia, the method previously requested by Mr Smith as an alternative to lethal injection.
“At long last, Mr Smith got what he asked for, and this case can finally be put to rest.
“I pray that Elizabeth Sennett’s family can receive closure after all these years dealing with that great loss.”
UN: ‘Death penalty is an anachronism that doesn’t belong in the 21st century’
Following the execution of Kenneth Smith, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the United Nations Human Rights Office said that the death penalty was “an anachronism that doesn’t belong in the 21st Century.”
“We deeply regret the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama despite serious concerns that this novel and untested method of suffocation by nitrogen gas may amount to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” she said.
“Let's just bring an end to the death penalty. This is an anachronism that doesn't belong in the 21st century.
“There is no proof that the death penalty deters crime, but on the contrary, there is a lot of evidence of miscarriages of justice. The death penalty is inconsistent with the fundamental right to life, and we urge all states to put in place a moratorium on its use as a step towards universal abolition.”
Elizabeth Sennett’s son says Smith’s execution was ‘bittersweet’
Elizabeth Sennett’s son Mike Sennett described the execution of his mother’s killer as “bittersweet” as he gave an emotional speech to reporters at a press conference after leaving the penitentiary.
“Nothing happened here today is going to bring mom back. Nothing. It’s kind of a bittersweet day,” he said.
“We are not going to be jumping around, whooping and hollering, hooray and all that, that’s not us. But we’re glad this day is over.
“All three of the people involved in this case years ago we have forgiven... I forgive ‘em for what they done,” he added.
Mr Sennett, who was supported by his wife Kim Sennette, concluded by saying: “I’ll end by saying Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett got her justice tonight.”
IN PICTURES: Aftermath of Kenneth Eugene Smith’s execution
Reverend Jeff Hood, the spiritual advisor to Kenneth Smith, comforts Smith’s wife Deanna Smith after his execution:
Reverend Jeff Hood, the spiritual advisor to Kenneth Smith, speaks to reporters at the Holiday Inn Express after Smith’s execution:
Mike Sennett, son of Elizabeth Sennett, and other family members speak after Kenneth Eugene Smith’s execution:
Alabama’s Commissioner of the Department of Corrections John Hamm speaks to reporters alongside the family of Elizabeth Sennett:
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