Current:Home > FinanceAlabama inmate asks judge to block first nitrogen gas execution -PrimeFinance
Alabama inmate asks judge to block first nitrogen gas execution
View
Date:2025-04-12 02:26:54
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Lawyers for the first inmate scheduled to be put to death with nitrogen gas argued in Monday court filings that Alabama is seeking to make him the “test case” for an experimental execution method and asked a federal judge to the block the January execution.
Attorneys for Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, filed an amended lawsuit challenging the proposed new execution method as a potential violation of the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. They asked a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction to block the execution from going forward next year.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey this month set a Jan. 25 execution date for Smith using nitrogen hypoxia, an execution method that is authorized in Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma but that has never been used to put an inmate to death. The Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office did not have an immediate comment on the lawsuit, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The multi-pronged lawsuit asked a federal judge to halt the nitrogen execution, or at least delay it until Smith’s lawyers obtain more information. The proposed execution method would use a fitting mask to replace breathable air with nitrogen, causing the inmate to die from lack of oxygen. Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air inhaled by humans and is harmless when inhaled with proper levels oxygen.
“There is sparse research on how long a human must be exposed to 100% pure nitrogen to cause death, what happens if a human is exposed to less than 100% pure nitrogen for a prolonged period of time, or on the pain or sensations that a human exposed to nitrogen might experience,” his attorneys wrote in the amended lawsuit filed Monday.
They noted in the filing that the American Veterinary Medical Association wrote in 2020 euthanasia guidelines that nitrogen hypoxia is an acceptable method of euthanasia for pigs but not other mammals because it could create an “anoxic environment that is distressing for some species.”
Smith was one of two men convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of Elizabeth Sennett in northwestern Alabama. The Alabama Department of Corrections tried to execute Smith by lethal injection last year but called off the execution when the execution team could not get the required two intravenous lines connected to Smith.
Smith’s attorneys also argued Alabama violated his due process rights by scheduling the execution when he had ongoing appeals — arguing it would be unconstitutional for the state to make a second attempt to execute him after the failed 2022 lethal injection — and that the gas mask over his face would interfere with his right to make a final statement or audibly pray before he is put to death.
According to the protocol filed by the state, the inmate would be escorted into the execution chamber, now used for lethal injections, placed on the gurney and have a mask fitted over their face. The warden would then read the death warrant and give the inmate a chance to give a final statement up to two minutes long. Execution team members would then make a final inspection of the mask. The warden, from another room, would then “activate the nitrogen hypoxia system.” The nitrogen gas would be administered for at least 15 minutes or “five minutes following a flatline indication on the EKG, whichever is longer,” according to the document.
Smith filed litigation seeking more information about the aborted execution attempt, as he sought to prevent a second lethal injection. The state in August began seeking a court date for Smith using nitrogen hypoxia as the execution method. Smith’s attorneys argued said the state proposed the new method “on the eve of discovery deadlines” in the lethal injection litigation.
Ivey and Marshall in earlier statements and court filings have noted that Smith, when fighting lethal injection, suggested nitrogen — a method that the state at that time had not finalized — as an alternative. Court rulings have required inmates objected to a state’s execution method to propose an alternative method. His attorneys argued that does not mean he agreed to the nitrogen procedures proposed by the state.
Prosecutors said Smith was one of two men who were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett on behalf of her husband, who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance. Her husband later killed himself. John Forrest Parker, the other man convicted in the slaying, was executed in 2010.
Smith’s initial conviction and death sentence was overturned on appeal. He was retried and convicted again in 1996, but the jury this time recommended a life sentence by a vote of 11-1. A judge overrode the recommendation and sentenced Smith to death. In 2017, Alabama became the last state to abolish the practice of letting judges override a jury’s sentencing recommendation in death penalty cases, but the change was not retroactive.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Doja Cat Shuts Down Joseph Quinn Engagement Rumors With One Simple Message
- Search resumes for 2 swimmers who went missing off the coast of Virginia Beach
- Kentucky judge allegedly killed by sheriff remembered for public service as residents seek answers
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- How to Watch the 2024 People's Choice Country Awards and Live From E!
- How Craig Conover Is Already Planning for Kids With Paige DeSorbo
- One of Titan submersible owner’s top officials to testify before the Coast Guard
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- BLM Plan for Solar on Public Lands Sparks Enthusiasm and Misgivings in Different Corners of the West
Ranking
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- Boeing makes a ‘best and final offer’ to striking union workers
- Damar Hamlin gets first career interception in Bills' MNF game vs. Jaguars
- West Virginia woman charged after daughter leaves home in handcuffs and seeks neighbor’s help
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Man fatally shot by police in Connecticut appeared to fire as officers neared, report says
- Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill joins fight for police reform after his detainment
- NFL Week 3 winners, losers: Texans, 49ers dealt sizable setbacks
Recommendation
Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
Kmart’s blue light fades to black with the shuttering of its last full-scale US store
What we know about the investigations surrounding New York City’s mayor
Man serving life for Alabama murder also sentenced in Wisconsin killing
$73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
Exclusive: Watch 'The Summit' learn they have 14 days to climb mountain for $1 million
Trade Russell Wilson? QB deal is right move for both Steelers, Dolphins
32 things we learned in NFL Week 3: These QB truths can't be denied