Alabama inmate becomes first execution using nitrogen gas in the US

An Alabama death row inmate has become the first person in the United States to be executed using nitrogen hypoxia. Kenneth Eugene Smith was strapped down to a gurney before being made to breathe in nitrogen gas through a mask to cause oxygen deprivation leading to his death. The new method has come under scrutiny as many deemed the untested execution method as cruel and experimental, Alabama has stated it is humane. Only 50 minutes before his execution, Smith’s lawyers attempted to block the execution but it was rejected. Despite the rejection, three judges dissented from the decision on the method, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Jackson. Justice Sotomayor criticised the untested method ahead of its first use on Smith. “Having failed to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama has selected him as its ‘guinea pig’ to test a method of execution never attempted before. The world is watching,” she said. In 2022, Alabama attempted to execute Smith using lethal injection, however, prison staff failed to insert needles into a suitable vein. This failure, along with several other failed executions using lethal injection led the state to pause executions in 2022.