Horrified wife screamed as killer convulsed during execution with new gas method
The spiritual guide of a convicted killer who was executed using a new nitrogen method has revealed the horrifying scene as the man convulsed on the gurney and his terrified wife screamed out.
Critics have labelled the method as cruel and experimental, despite officials claiming it would be humane. Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at an Alabama prison after breathing pure nitrogen gas through a face mask to cause oxygen deprivation. This marked the first time that a new execution method has been used in the United States since lethal injection was introduced in 1982.
Smith's spiritual adviser, Reverend Jeff Hood, said the execution did not match the state attorney general's prediction that Smith would lose consciousness in seconds followed by death within minutes. "We didn't see somebody go unconscious in 30 seconds. What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life," said Hood, who attended the execution.
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Jeff Hood, spiritual guide to the executed man, talks to reporters (No credit)"When they turned the nitrogen on, he began to convulse, he popped up on the gurney over and over again, he shook the whole gurney," he added. Smith struggled against his restraints and his wife Deanna cried out for him from the witness box.
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Witnesses waited for nearly an hour before the curtain was drawn back to reveal Smith strapped to the execution bed. He said his goodbyes and in a final statement, Smith said: "Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards. ... I'm leaving with love, peace and light."
He made the "I love you sign" with his hands towards family members who were witnesses. "Thank you for supporting me. Love, love all of you," Smith said.
Hood said he prayed for Smith and told him that he '"loved him and he wasn't alone." Smith was found guilty in a 1988 murder-for-hire killing of a preacher's wife.
Mugshot of death row inmate Kenneth Smith (Alabama Department of Correction)The execution took about 22 minutes, and Smith seemed to stay awake for several minutes. For at least two minutes, he appeared to shake and writhe on the bed, sometimes pulling against the restraints. That was followed by several minutes of heavy breathing, until breathing was no longer noticeable.
The Reverend said: "I could see the corrections officers, I think they were very surprised that this didn't go smoothly - one of the state officials in the room was so nervous she was tap dancing."
The state said the nitrogen gas would knock someone out in seconds and they'd pass away quickly. State Attorney General Steve Marshall said on Thursday night that nitrogen gas "was intended to be - and has now proved to be - an effective and humane method of execution."
When asked about Smith's shaking on the bed, Alabama's prison boss John Q. Hamm said it looked like he couldn't help it.
Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood is the spiritual advisor for Kenneth Eugene Smith (Courtesy of Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood)"That was all expected and was in the side effects that we've seen or researched on nitrogen hypoxia," Hamm explained. "Nothing was out of the ordinary from what we were expecting."
But some doctors and groups were really worried about this way of executing people. Smith's lawyers wanted the Supreme Court to stop the execution. They said it might be too cruel and unusual and needed more checks before being used on a person.
"There is little research regarding death by nitrogen hypoxia. When the State is considering using a novel form of execution that has never been attempted anywhere, the public has an interest in ensuring the State has researched the method adequately and established procedures to minimize the pain and suffering of the condemned person," Smith's lawyers argued.
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