Method Archives

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. …

First Execution by Nitrogen Gas in Alabama: Concerns Arise Over New Method of Capital Punishment

ATMORE, Alabama – On Thursday night, Kenneth Smith, an Alabama death row inmate, was executed by nitrogen gas, a new method of execution in the United States. This marked the first time a death row inmate died by nitrogen gas, a method that experts have warned could lead to extreme pain or even torture. Smith, convicted for his involvement in a 1988 murder for hire, had survived the state’s initial attempt to execute him by …