Alabama executes death row inmate with nitrogen for first time

Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. Thursday at an Alabama prison (local time) after inhaling pure nitrogen gas through a mask, causing oxygen deprivation, officials said.

The execution marked the first time a new execution method was used in the US since lethal injection, the most commonly used method, was introduced in 1982.

Death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted of the 1988 murder of a missionary's wife. Photo: AP

In 2022, he suffered a botched execution by lethal injection, which his lawyers said caused him severe physical and psychological pain, including post-traumatic stress disorder.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has previously described the controversial method as "perhaps the most humane method of execution ever devised."

However, Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva, warned that the method could “constitute torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, under international human rights law”.

There will be 24 executions in the US in 2023, all carried out by lethal injection.

US states that still impose the death penalty are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain sedatives for use in lethal injection procedures.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 US states, while the governors of six other states - Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee - have suspended its use.

Mai Anh (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bang-alabama-cua-my-da-thi-hanh-an-tu-tu-bang-khi-nito-post282609.html