2024-01-27T05:20:25+00:00
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/ The European Union expressed its “deep regret” over the execution of a convicted murderer in the US state of Alabama with nitrogen gas, the first time this method has been used in the country.
“According to leading experts, this method constitutes particularly cruel and unusual punishment,” an EU spokesman said in a statement.
The 27-nation European Union generally opposes the death penalty and criticizes executions carried out around the world.
The US state of Alabama executed Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted of murder, using nitrogen gas.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday denied Smith’s request to stay the execution and rejected his motion to review the case. On Thursday, it also rejected his request to stay the execution amid dissent from the court’s three liberal justices.
“The execution was lawfully carried out by nitrogen hypoxia, the method Mr. Smith had previously requested as an alternative to lethal injection,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement. “At long last, Smith has received what he requested, and this case can finally be closed.”