Criminal sentenced to death using nitrogen gas for the 1st time in the US

Washington, US – Alabama, a US State, executed Kenneth Smith. It is the first death row using nitrogen gas, marking the emergence of a wholly new method of execution in the United States. Experts have said this could lead to excessive pain or even torture. Alabama prison officials said Smith was first taken to a chamber and strapped to a stretcher. A mask was placed over his mouth and nitrogen gas was released into it.

Smith was one of three men convicted for his role in the 1988 murder-for-hire killing of Elizabeth Sennett, who was found with multiple stab wounds at her home in Colbert County, Ala. Smith had survived the State’s initial attempt to execute him by lethal injection in 2022.