Kenneth Eugene Smith’s Nitrogen Gas Execution: First of Its Kind in Alabama
Family Witnesses and Reporters Present as Alabama Carries Out Historic Nitrogen Gas Execution
According to True Crime Daily, Kenneth Eugene Smith 58-year-old man was executed Thursday night using nitrogen gas and marking the first time this method was employed for execution. Smith had been on death row since 1989 for the murder of Elizabeth Sennett. The execution was witnessed by reporters and Smith’s family saw him convulse for about two minutes before being pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. The Supreme Court blocked the execution with Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall defending the state’s decision and calling it a “humane method of execution.”
READ ALSO: Mental Health Release Triggers Tragic Stabbing Verdict!
Brutal Nitrogen Gas Execution Shocks Alabama as Death Row Inmate Meets Fate!(PHOTO: Pioneer Press)
Capital Punishment and Nitrogen Gas Execution Ethics Debated Following Alabama’s Historic Event
The execution stirred controversy as Smith’s spiritual adviser and others denounced the method and stating it took minutes for Smith to struggle for his life. They emphasized the need to prevent such executions from happening again. The murder for hire plot orchestrated by Elizabeth’s husband Charles Sennett led to her brutal death in 1988. Smith and an accomplice were paid to kill her and Charles Sennett took his own life when implicated in the crime. The execution sparked debates about the ethics of capital punishment and the effectiveness of nitrogen gas as a means of execution.
READ ALSO: Mass Chaos Erupts As Haiti’s Prison Turns Into Bloodbath Amidst Gang Siege
