Posted on 01/24/2024 5:50:38 PM PST by Morgana
Alabama will be allowed to put killer Kenneth Eugene Smith to death with nitrogen gas, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The ruling refuses to block what would be the nation´s first execution by a new method since 1982.
Smith will be gassed to death with nitrogen hypoxia tomorrow at 6pm in Atmore, Alabama. It will be the first execution of its kind in the US and first known nitrogen execution in the world.
Earlier Wednesday, Smith had begged the Supreme court for mercy, citing experts concerns over the method despite previously requesting it and that it would violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments. They denied that appeal.
Now, it appears they will likely hear and rule on whether Alabama can use the new method of execution before Smith is set to be put to death.
Smith, 58, is one of two men convicted in the murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher´s wife in 1988 that rocked a small north Alabama community.
Prosecutors said he and the other man were each paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett on behalf of her husband, who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance.
Sennett, 45, was found dead March 18, 1988, in her home in Colbert County with eight stab wounds in the chest and one on each side of her neck, according to the coroner.
Her husband, Charles Sennett Sr., killed himself when the investigation focused on him as a suspect, according to court documents.
Smith´s initial 1989 conviction was overturned on appeal, but he was retried and convicted again in 1996.
The jury recommended a life sentence by a vote of 11-1, but a judge overrode that and sentenced him to death. Alabama no longer lets judges override jury decisions in death penalty cases.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Or a bullet to the back of the head and cheaper too.
It’s been tested on animals. It’s how cattle are often killed these days when we process them for meat. It’s fine.
It was said not to do well on animals. So I say hang him at dawn. They sell quality rope at Ace Hardware.
“”could lead to a cruel death””
Really? Too bad!! That takes a lot of nerve or just plain old fashion stupidity!
how about nitroglycerine?
This scumbag is worried about a painful death after killing an innocent woman. Cry me a river!
It seems to me that eight stab wounds to his chest and one to each side of his neck would be the fairest method of execution.
There are lots of alligators in Alabama. Just find a swamp and let him go swimming
Works for me!
We who use nitrogen and other inert gases in industry find that almost impossible to believe. Nitrogen displaces oxygen; in confined spaces it's a silent killer.
Kill him the same way he killed the preacher´s wife.
HER ‘humanity’ meant nothing to him. *SPIT*
She’s been dead for 35 years now while he’s still wasting oxygen.
Yes, why not use a noose? Those have been tested and found to be effective.
I agree.
Nitrogen is too humane for him. He killed the woman by stabbing her in the chest with a knife 5 or 6 times and twice on the side of her neck. I say mix the nitrogen with 5% oxygen and prolong his execution.
Easier yes. But they argue hanging is cruel and unusual/painful, which they can’t argue with nitrogen.
By whom? It also "was said" that the earth is flat, there are four elements, and Sheikh Obama (piss be upon him) was American-born.
The constitution clearly prohibits cruel punishments. Are you saying that in this case that provision should not be followed?
Makes sense.
Nitrogen and helium are both inert. The Hemlock Society & Final Exit folk have been using helium for years for assisted suicides, so it has an established track record of causing people to fall asleep peacefully never to wake.
What causes distress when you suffocate is the build-up of CO2. CO2 is a waste product removed from the blood by the lungs so you can exhale it. If your lungs are flushed with an inert gas every time you inhale, there’s no CO2 build-up. The inert gas won’t react with your tissues to cause discomfort because it can’t (else it wouldn’t be inert).
If you’ve ever breathed from a helium balloon until you were light-headed (or even passed out) you know the truth of it because people have been doing it for ages and there’s no discomfort. Youngsters at parties have been known to do it for giggles. Using nitrogen for an execution will produce exactly the same effect. Breathe it long enough and you die without ever feeling the discomfort of CO2 build-up.
Not as cheap as all the heroin and/or fentanyl that the states have confiscated.
Load up the syringe, give him a whack of smack and it’s lights out. Mo muss, no fuss.
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