Kenneth Eugene Smith
Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was executed by nitrogen hypoxia at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, on January 25, 2024, the first time that method had been used on anyone. Friends and family visited him in his final 24 hours, and his wife, Deanna, was present as a witness and cried out to him during the execution. He had survived a failed lethal injection in 2022, and he later said he was terrified and developed post-traumatic stress disorder after it. His lawyers argued the untested nitrogen method could cause prolonged suffering, and UN Special Rapporteurs called it unethical human experimentation and torture. Witnesses said he shook and writhed for several minutes, while state officials said the procedure was textbook.
Cause of death, as reported: Executed by the state. Witnesses reported he shook and writhed for several minutes, and UN Special Rapporteurs said he took more than 20 minutes to die and called the execution torture, while his lawyers had warned the untested nitrogen method could cause prolonged suffering.
Reported by: Alabama Department of Corrections and Attorney General (the agency that held him); witnesses to the execution; UN Special Rapporteurs.
News reports (7)
- Executions
- Alabama executes man by nitrogen gas for the first time in the U.S.
- Attorney General defends 'textbook' execution of death row prisoner despite backlash for 'inhumane' method
- Nitrogen hypoxia: Everything you need to know about controversial execution of Kenneth Smith in Alabama
- After Kelvin Moore died in an Alabama prison, his body was returned without organs. His family wants answers
- USA: Rights experts slam ‘outrageous’ execution of inmate by nitrogen gas suffocation
- Failed executions troubled other states before Christa Pike. Here’s what happened