26 January 2024 , 16:15
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The execution using nitrogen gas was "textbook", Steve Marshall, Attorney General of Alabama said a day after death row prisoner Kenneth Eugene Smith was killed with nitrogen gas. "Not only was this constitutionally carried out, but entirely consistent with how it was planned," Marshall said.
Smith appeared to shake and convulse on the gurney as Alabama carried out the first-of-its-kind execution. He was pronounced dead at 8:25pm local time Thursday at an Alabama prison after breathing the gas through a face mask to cause oxygen deprivation. The execution took about 22 minutes between the opening and closing of the curtains to the viewing room. Journalist Lee Hedgepeth who was among the few behind the glass in the death chamber reported that the procedure was "violent" and "shocking" to watch.
Smith appeared to remain conscious for several minutes after the gas started flowing. For at least two minutes, he shook violently and writhed on the gurney, sometimes pulling against the restraints and shaking the gurney with the force of his movements. That was followed by several minutes of heavy breathing until breathing was no longer perceptible.
READ MORE: Horror show 22 minute nitrogen execution as Kenneth Smith convulsed and wife screamed
Smith's wife Deanna Smith was screaming during the execution, it was reported (DAN ANDERSON/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Amid fierce outrage sparked by the incident, which authorities had claimed would be a "painless" and "humane" method of execution, the state's Attorney General carried out a press conference in addition to the written statement issued yesterday after the execution.
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Alabama's Attorney General said the focus should be on "delivering justice" for the family of Smith's victim. "Let's remember her legacy in her life as much as we remember the person who took her away from us," he said.
Smith, was paid $1,000 to kill an Alabama woman more than 35 years ago. In his final statement, he 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 toward family members who were witnesses and said: "Thank you for supporting me. Love, love all of you."
Smith shook violently and writhed on the gurney for at least two minutes (AFP via Getty Images)READ MORE: Alabama nitrogen gas executioner was once fired for 'mercilessly' beating woman
Asked why he couldn't provide the exact time that nitrogen started flowing through the mask, Marshall said: "Ultimately the Department of Corrections will know exactly when that started. I don't have knowledge of that. But obviously, from the witnesses that were there, they were aware of the circumstances that took place before and including the last words that were spoken by Mr. Smith. Then it was shortly after that the death process began, but I can't give you that specific time."
After Marshall claimed the execution was "successful", a reporter asked what he would have considered unsuccessful. He replied: "[If] we did not provide justice for this family [of Smith's victim]." He went on: "We complied with the Constitution and the carrying out of this process. Mr Smith was given due process to the courts to be able to have his arguments heard. We prevailed and justice occurred for that family last night."
Kenneth Smith was put to death (Alabama Department of Correction)
Smith was convicted of Elizabeth Sennett's murder (Find a Grave)The state had predicted the nitrogen gas would cause unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes. State Attorney General Steve Marshall said that nitrogen gas "was intended to be — and has now proved to be — an effective and humane method of execution."
Asked about Smith’s shaking and convulsing on the gurney, Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm said they appeared to be involuntary movements. “That was all expected and was in the side effects that we’ve seen or researched on nitrogen hypoxia,” Hamm said. “Nothing was out of the ordinary from what we were expecting.”
Smith’s spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeff Hood, said the execution did not match the state attorney general’s prediction in court filings 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.
Reverend Dr. Jeff Hood, the spiritual advisor for convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith (DAN ANDERSON/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
In his final hours, Smith met with family members and his spiritual adviser, according to a prison spokesperson. “He’s terrified at the torture that could come. But he’s also at peace. One of the things he told me is he is finally getting out,” Hood said.
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The execution protocol called for Smith to be strapped to a gurney in the execution chamber — the same one where he was strapped down for several hours during the lethal injection attempt — and a “full facepiece supplied air respirator” to be placed over his face. After he had a chance to make a final statement, the warden, from another room, was to activate the nitrogen gas. It would be administered through the mask for at least 15 minutes or “five minutes following a flatline indication on the EKG, whichever is longer,” according to the state protocol. Hamm, the corrections commissioner, confirmed afterward that the gas was flowing for about 15 minutes.
Several human rights groups protested claiming the experimental method of using nitrogen gas to execute people may not work (DAN ANDERSON/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)In a news conference after the execution, ADOC Commissioner John Hamm was asked if Smith's shaking during the first few minutes of the nitrogen being administered was expected. Hamm claimed Smith attempted to hold his breath as long as possible and that Smith's struggle against the restraints, abnormal breathing and involuntary moving happened as expected.
Hamm was also asked why it seemed Smith remained conscious for those first few minutes. Previously, the Alabama Attorney General's Office told a federal judge the nitrogen gas method would cause Smith to lose consciousness within seconds. Hamm said he could not see Smith's face, deferring to the media's point of view of those moments.