Alabama Executes Convicted Killer Using Nitrogen Hypoxia, Making History as First State to Use Method

Atmore, Alabama became the first state to use nitrogen hypoxia to execute a convicted killer on Thursday. Kenneth Eugene Smith was put to death at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. Smith had been on death row for over 30 years after being convicted of beating 45-year-old Elizabeth Sennett to death with a fireplace poker. Smith was one of several death row inmates who chose nitrogen hypoxia over lethal injection as their method of execution. …

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Alabama Contract Killer Kenneth Smith Set to Be Executed by Nitrogen Hypoxia – First Time in U.S. History

ATMORE, Ala. — After spending more than two decades on death row, contract killer and Alabama native Kenneth Smith is set to become the first person to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia. This method, referred to as experimental by Smith’s attorneys and admonished by the United Nations, is scheduled for Thursday. The US Supreme Court has declined to stop the execution, and Smith will not be alone in the gas chamber at the William C. …

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