Alabama death row inmate Kenneth Smith executed with nitrogen gas, in a first for US

Alabama performed its first execution in the United States using nitrogen gas on Friday (Jan 26).Kenneth Smith, found guilty in a 1988 murder-for-hire case, wasan unusual inmate who endured an unsuccessful execution in November 2022. Alabama authorities halted his lethal injection as they grappled for hours to properly insert the intravenous needle.

Alabama has described its recent procedure as "the least painful and most humane form of execution known to humanity".

What's the procedure?

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Officials saidthat Kenneth Smith wouldlose consciousness within one to two minutes and pass away shortly thereafter.

While lethal gases like hydrogen cyanide have been employed in executions before, this marks the first instance of using an inert gas to induce suffocation in a death sentence, according to experts in capital punishment.

Critics of the death penalty, including human rights experts from the United Nations, argue that this method amounts to human experimentation and may result in injuring rather than killing the individual or lead to a torturous death.

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Reverend Jeff Hood, Smith's spiritual advisor, expressed sorrow, highlighting the particularly horrific aspect of conducting a human experiment with legal suffocation. Hood, who waspresent during the execution, had to sign a waiver acknowledging the "unlikely" danger of succumbing to nitrogen asphyxiation.

States in the USemploying the death penalty face increasing challenges in procuring lethal injection drugs due to pharmaceutical companies prohibiting their supply, adhering to a European ban on goods used in torture or executions.

Oklahoma and Mississippi lawmakers have endorsed nitrogen-asphyxiation execution protocols, mirroring Alabama's, but have yet to implement them.

Kenneth Smith, convicted of murdering a preacher's wife, Elizabeth Sennett, received a life sentence recommendation from 11 out of 12 jurors.

(With inputs from agencies)