For the first time in the world, the death penalty was carried out using nitrogen gas. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, among others, expressed “serious concerns” about the method.
The man sentenced to death by the U.S. Supreme Court for the contract killing of 45-year-old Elizabeth Kenneth died Thursday at 8:25 p.m. After 34 years in prison, the death sentence was carried out against Kenneth Eugene Smith, who died of asphyxia. It is the first case in the world in which a person sentenced to death died from asphyxiation with nitrogen. The US Supreme Court had denied him the opportunity to appeal the method chosen to enforce the judgment.
The execution lasted about 22 minutes as Smith appeared to be conscious for some time. Kenneth Smith had already undergone a first execution on November 17, 2022: he was subjected to a lethal injection, which he survived because the executioners did not find the vein. From that moment on, Smith suffered from anxiety and depression.
“Serious concerns”
The mobilization of human rights organizations that had called for a halt to the execution, which was described as bordering on torture, was in vain. Riccardo Noury, spokesman for Amnesty International, commented: “Pumping out nitrogen for many minutes to extract oxygen is a terrible thing, a cruel suffering. It’s almost as if the court decided to see how Smith would turn out and then possibly ban further executions. An experiment within an experiment.” After Smith’s death was made official, Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: “I deeply regret the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama. I have serious concerns that this untested method of nitrogen asphyxiation may constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
last words
Before putting on his mask, the condemned man said these final words: “Tonight, Alabama is causing humanity to take a step backwards. I leave with love, peace and light”. After making a heart sign with his hands toward his families and witnesses, Smith said, “Thank you for supporting me. I love you, I love you all.” The state of Alabama called the use of pure nitrogen “the least painful and most humane method” and that Smith likely became unconscious within a minute or two and then died. So far, however, there has been no explanation as to whether or how much he suffered.
(vatican news – vn)