Kenneth Smith's last meal before execution by nitrogen gas in Alabama prison

26 January 2024 , 03:38

715     0

Kenneth Eugene Smith faces execution over a 1988 murder (Image: BBC /ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS)

Death row killer Kenneth Smith was allowed a final meal before his nitrogen gas execution - the first of its kind, which has been heavily criticised as inhumane.

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.

Smith 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".

READ MORE: Kenneth Smith's haunting final words before nitrogen gas execution in Alabama

Pictured: Elizabeth Sennett, 45, was found dead on March 18, 1988, in the couple's home in Alabama's Colbert County. She had been stabbed eight times in the chest and once on each side of neck Alabama death row inmate who killed preacher's wife in $1,000 murder-for-hire plot is set to die by lethal injection today - 26 years after judge overrode jury's 11-1 vote to sentence him to life Kenneth Eugene Smith, 57, is set to die by lethal injection Thursday night Smith was convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher's wife https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11439471/Alabama-man-killed-preachers-wife-1K-murder-hire-plot-set-die-lethal-injection.html (Find a Grave)

Kenneth Eugene Smith became the first prisoner to be executed by nitrogen gas (Alabama Department of Corrections)

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, attorney and spiritual leader.

Labour MP apologises for branding Israeli government 'fascist' in Parliament

United Nations experts previously "expressed alarm" ahead of Smith's execution, saying this month in a news release: "We are concerned that nitrogen hypoxia would result in a painful and humiliating death." The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Alabama to halt the execution, saying it "could amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under international human rights law."

Previously, Smith, 58, survived a botched attempt at lethal injection execution back in November 2022 where he spent four hours believing his death was only moments away. Now, 14 months later, if everything goes to plan, Smith will be the first ever person to be executed using this method in the US.

For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US

Elizabeth Sennett's son, Charles (pictured) was 25 years old in 1988 when his mother was killed (WAAYTV)

Smith was scheduled for execution in a 30-hour window starting just after midnight on Thursday, January 25, for his part in a murder-for-hire plot of a pastor's wife. Having had his share of life-threatening experiences, Smith was understandably concerned about what lies ahead.

He expressed his fears in writing, saying: "I am worried that we have told Alabama that these risks could happen - will happen - just like we warned them last year. And they will do nothing to prevent these dangers from happening." Smith's own attorneys have said the state was looking to make him the "test subject" for a novel execution method. Currently, Alabama is just one of three states, along with Oklahoma and Mississippi, that authorizes the use of nitrogen gas in executions.

Vassia Barba