SCOTUS OKs Alabama’s First Nitrogen Gas Execution
OAN’s Abril Elfi
11:56 AM – Thursday, January 25, 2024
The Supreme Court has officially granted permission for Alabama to carry out its first-ever nitrogen gas execution on prisoner Kenneth Smith.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court approved Alabama’s request to execute Smith, 58, with nitrogen on Thursday, January 25th.
Attorneys representing Smith had requested that the court consider whether Smith’s execution would violate the Constitution, since this is the state’s second attempt at carrying out the death penalty due to the first one having “gone wrong” for reasons that the state “should have known about,” lawyers said.
Two juries found Smith guilty on two separate occasions of killing Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett in 1988 in Colbert County, Alabama, in a murder-for-pay plot. Smith was 22-years-old when he committed the crime.
Sennett, a pastor’s wife, endured repeated beatings and stabbings after her husband had hired Smith and two others to kill her for $1,000 each.
Smith admitted to his involvement in the murder and has since been detained on death row since 1996.
The state claims that the use of nitrogen gas will render the victim unconscious very quickly, but opponents of the method have likened this unprecedented execution style to unethical experiments on humans.
Smith previously contested the state’s decision to execute him via lethal injection, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state last year. However, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) chose not to reconsider the decision of a lower court that upheld Smith’s right to die via fatal gas injection instead of injection.
Smith is scheduled to be executed on Thursday by nitrogen hypoxia, making him the first person to be executed by lethal injection since its introduction in 1982.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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What are the arguments for and against the use of nitrogen gas execution as a method of carrying out the death penalty?
The use of lethal injection. This led Alabama to pursue the alternative method of nitrogen gas execution.
Nitrogen gas execution involves placing a mask or hood over the prisoner’s head and releasing nitrogen gas, which replaces the oxygen and causes death. Proponents of this method argue that it is a more humane and painless way of carrying out the death penalty compared to other methods such as lethal injection.
However, opponents of nitrogen gas execution raise concerns about the potential for a botched execution and the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding this method. They argue that there have been no previous executions carried out using nitrogen gas, making it an experimental and untested method.
The case of Kenneth Smith has sparked a larger debate about the constitutionality and morality of the death penalty. Attorneys representing Smith argued that his execution would violate the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. They raised concerns about the state’s previous failed attempt at executing Smith and questioned the state’s knowledge of potential risks and complications.
Despite these arguments, the Supreme Court approved Alabama’s request to carry out the nitrogen gas execution. This decision highlights the ongoing debate surrounding the death penalty and the different methods used to carry it out.
It is important for society to carefully consider the ethical implications of the death penalty and the methods used for execution. Questions of human rights, human dignity, and the potential for error and injustice should be thoroughly examined.
With the granting of permission to carry out the first-ever nitrogen gas execution in Alabama, the focus now shifts to the execution itself and the potential consequences it may have on future cases and the overall debate about capital punishment.
Ultimately, the use of nitrogen gas execution raises important questions about the effectiveness, morality, and constitutionality of the death penalty. It is a complex issue that merits further discussion and analysis in order to ensure a fair and just criminal justice system.
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