In the USA, for the first time, it is planned to execute a convict by nitrogen inhalation
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In the state of Alabama, the court for the first time in the history of the United States allowed the execution of a prisoner by inhalation of nitrogen. 58-year-old Kenneth Smith, convicted of contract murder, was sentenced to such a punishment. Nitrogen hypoxia is scheduled for January 25.
They wanted to execute Smith in 2022 by lethal injection, but it was not possible due to problems with the injection, AP writes.
Prisoner Kenneth Eugene Smith, now 58, was convicted of the 1988 murder of a preacher’s wife. Prosecutors said Smith and another man were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett by her husband, who was “deep in debt” and wanted an insurance payout.
The execution will take place as follows: Smith will be fitted with a breathing mask into which nitrogen will be fed, causing death from lack of oxygen. Three states — Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma — already allow nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution, but none have yet used it.
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Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall supported the judge’s decision and said it “brings the state closer to holding Smith accountable for a horrific contract killing.”
“Smith avoided his legal death sentence for more than 35 years, but the court’s current ruling, which rejected Smith’s speculative claims, removes a hurdle to justice finally being served“, he added.
The defendant’s lawyers said they would appeal this decision. The issue may end up before the US Supreme Court. They criticize this method of execution as “cruel and likely to cause undue pain to Smith”.
However, the state Attorney General’s Office says that oxygen deprivation “will result in unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes.” In their court documents, prosecutors compared the new method of execution to accidents at work, when people quickly lost consciousness and died as a result of exposure to nitrogen.
Read also: “Encouraged permissiveness”: in Iran, an activist was punished with 74 lashes for a photo without a hijab
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