Death row killer executed with toxic gas after surviving lethal injection
Death row killer Kenneth Smith has been executed using a controversial nitrogen gas method after surviving his first lethal injection attempt.
The 58-year-old became the first-ever inmate in the USA to be put to death by toxic gas following an execution at Alabama's Holman Correctional Facility. His official time of death was recorded at 20:25 on Thursday, 25, January. Speaking ahead of his death, Smith said: "I am not ready for that. Not in no kind of way. I'm just not ready, brother."
The state of Alabama had predicted in federal court filings that the nitrogen gas would "cause unconsciousness within seconds and cause death within minutes" as the body is starved of oxygen.
As Smith was strapped to a bed, executioners placed a medical face mask over his head - with instructions allowing nitrogen to be administered for up to 15 minutes until the heart monitor flat-lined.
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Convicted killer Smith, left, poses with Reverend Dr Jeff Hood, who accompanied him until his death as the condemned man's spiritual advisor (Courtesy of Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood)Smith’s spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeff Hood, said his last meal consisted of a Waffle House order: T-bone steak, hash browns, and scrambled eggs in A.1. sauce and toast. Procedure around the method of execution reports meant Smith was denied food for eight hours before his death.
He was said to have consumed his final meal at 10am on Thursday morning, before being denied any further solid food before his death and only clear liquids. According to a court document, the decision to ban all solid foods in the eight hours before his death was to reduce the likelihood of him vomiting during the execution and limit any "substantial risk of harm".
On Wednesday, one day before his scheduled death, Smith reportedly declined to eat breakfast and lunch and only consumed a coffee, a Mountain Dew, and a Pepsi, however did eat part of his evening meal. Yesterday he was also reportedly visited by a friend, his brother, two nieces, his son, grandson, wife, lawyer, and spiritual leader.
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Smith was sentenced to death in 1989 for acting as a hitman to murder a preacher's wife. He survived an execution attempt in 2022 because medics could not find the veins to deliver the lethal injection. Smith later described the experience as "like being up under a sewing machine."
His nitrogen execution came after a last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court to stop the killing, but judges ruled it could go ahead and refused to grant a stay of execution. But not all the judges were in agreement.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor described the method as "untested" and said Smith faced choking to death on his own vomit while wearing the face mask. And Justice Elena Kagan said nitrogen execution was "entirely novel".
Reverend Dr Jeff Hood, Smith's spiritual advisor who accompanied him to his deathbed, feared he too could die if nitrogen leaked into the surrounding room. Rev Hood said: "I did hug my kids extra hard and tell them I love them multiple times before I left the house."
Prison officials were instructed to place a breathing mask pumping out nitrogen over Smith's face until he died - despite fears he could choke on his own vomit (Getty Images)For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to
In the hours ahead of the scheduled execution, Smith met with family members and Rev Hood, according to a prison spokesperson. He ate a final meal of T-bone steak, hash browns, toast, and eggs slathered in A1 steak sauce, Hood said by telephone.
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Critics of the controversial death penalty method said it was unclear what Smith would feel after the warden switched on the gas, according to medics.
"What effect the condemned person will feel from the nitrogen gas itself, no one knows," Dr Jeffrey Keller, president of the American College of Correctional Physicians, wrote in an email. "This has never been done before. It is an experimental procedure."
Keller, who was not involved in developing the Alabama protocol, said the plan was to "eliminate all of the oxygen from the air" that Smith is breathing by replacing it with nitrogen.
Smith, who previously survived a botched lethal injection attempt, was strapped to a hospital gurney to be put to death (AFP via Getty Images)"Since the condemned person will not be breathing any oxygen, he will die," Keller said. "It is little different than putting a plastic bag over one's head."
The execution is the first attempt to use a new method since lethal injection was introduced in 1982. Three states - Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma - have authorised nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. Some states are exploring new methods as lethal injection drugs have become more difficult to find.
The American Veterinary Medical Association wrote in 2020 euthanasia guidelines that nitrogen hypoxia is not an acceptable euthanasia method for most mammals because the anoxic environment "is distressing." Experts appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Council cautioned they believe the execution method could violate the prohibition on torture.
Smith was one of two men convicted of the 1988 murder-for-hire of a preacher's wife. Prosecutors said the men were paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett, 45, on behalf of her husband, who wanted to collect on insurance. The coroner testified Sennett was stabbed repeatedly. Her husband killed himself when he became a suspect. John Forrest Parker, the other man convicted, was executed in 2010.
Sennett's husband, who was the pastor of the Westside Church of Christ in Sheffield, killed himself one week after her death (Find a Grave)The family of Alabama prisoner Kenneth Smith read a statement following the execution of killer Kenneth Smith, saying it marked a "bitter sweet day".
Following Thursday's execution, Elizabeth's son Mike Sennett, joined by his brother Chuck, issued a statement, saying it was a "bittersweet day". He said: "Nothing happened here today that’s going to bring Mom back. It's kind of a bittersweet day. We're not going to be jumping around, around, hooting and hollering "hooray" and all that. That's not us. But we're glad this day is over.
"All three of the people involved in this case years ago, we have forgiven. Not today but we have in the past. Some people may not believe that, you know, how do you forgive somebody. Well, in an effort to be more Christ-like, try to live his teachings and stuff, it is my duty and it is a weight off my shoulders.
The family of Elizabeth Sennett says they have forgiven the three men involved in her murder"I forgive him, I forgive him what he done, I don't like what he done but they are forgiven from us. The Bible says evil deeds have consequences — and Kenneth Smith made some bad decisions 35 years ago — and his debt was paid tonight.
"Some of you may have heard us talk about over and over about 35 years, 35 years. 35 years - Kenneth Smith, Parker, Williams - Williams not so much because he died in the system, but Parker and Smith have been incarcerated almost twice as long as I knew my mom. Elizabeth Dorlene Thorne Sennett got her justice tonight."
Smith's victim was survived by two sons, Chuck and Mike, and several grandchildren (Find a Grave)Smith's initial conviction was overturned. He was convicted again following a re-trial in 1996. The jury recommended a life sentence by 11-1, but a judge sentenced Smith to death. Following a rule change, Alabama no longer allows a judge to override a jury's sentencing decision in death penalty cases.
Smith is one of few people to survive a prior execution attempt. The state attempted a lethal injection on him in 2022, but the prison system called it off before the drugs were administered because the staff had difficulty connecting the two required intravenous lines.
Rev Hood said before tonight's gas execution: "Kenny describes the initial botched execution like being up under a sewing machine — just consistently being poked over and over and over again. It’s horrific to think about." He added: "This is a group of people that just simply could not kill Kenny, who just bungled the whole thing, and he’s supposed to trust them to get it right this next time. That’s absurd, absolutely absurd."
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