Posted on 01/25/2024 9:08:57 PM PST by RandFan
Alabama has executed convicted murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith with nitrogen gas, the first time the method of capital punishment has been used in the US.
Smith, 58, lost two final appeals to the Supreme Court and one to a federal appeals court, arguing the execution was a cruel and unusual punishment.
In 2022, Alabama tried and failed to execute Smith by lethal injection.
He was convicted in 1989 of murdering a preacher's wife, Elizabeth Sennett, in a killing-for-hire.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Smith is the first person to be put to death using pure nitrogen gas anywhere in the world.
Five members of the media were transported by van to Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore to witness the execution.
"Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards," Smith said, according to witnesses. "Thank you for supporting me. Love all of you."
After the gas began to flow into his mask, the inmate is said to have smiled, nodded toward his family and signed "I love you".
Witnesses observed two to four minutes of writhing and about five minutes of heavy breathing before he was pronounced dead at 20:25 local time (02:35 GMT).
Breathing nitrogen without oxygen causes cells in the body to break down and leads to death.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, who did not respond to a request to attend the execution, confirmed Smith's death in a statement.
"After more than 30 years and attempt after attempt to game the system, Mr Smith has answered for his horrendous crimes," she said.
"I pray that Elizabeth Sennett's family can receive closure after all these years dealing with that great loss."
Attorney General Steve Marshall said it had proved to be "an effective and humane method of execution", refuting the "dire predictions" of activists and the media.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Look into the “due process” clause of the Constitution. The possibility of being “ put down by the State” has been codified in US law from day one.
“How would you like to lose 10 years of life in prison on a rape you didn’t commit because everybody got it wrong?”
How would you like to live where rape wasn’t punished because “What if we get it wrong?”
There is no such thing as PERFECT justice until we meet God. All human endeavor is imperfect. But our justice system has a pretty good trac record as long as politics is not involved.
My idea is a 2,000 pound flat iron weight suspended 50 feet above the prisoner. Pull the lever, it drops, then move it back up and wash away what is left with a water hose.
> Mercy to criminals is injustice to their victims.
Well said.
The real irony is that the media (when not expressing opposition to capital punishment) is always pushing for “humane” methods for carrying it out. But what they really push for are methods that seem less messy or horrific to those watching, but are actually less humane to the executed criminal. For example, one of the most humane methods for the criminal would have to be guillotine. While it seems horrific, the blade severs the spinal cord at the neck within a fraction of a second, resulting in (for the brief time the criminal would remain conscious) a complete inability for nerve signals from the body to reach the brain. The criminal would feel no pain at all. Hanging and firing squad likewise result in almost instant death with no real time for the criminal to suffer.
Contrast that with lethal injections or this asphyxiation by nitrogen that was just used. Even if these are pain free, the criminal spends several minutes in the process of dying. Isn’t it more humane to just kill the criminal quickly? But those other quick methods look messy and horrible, so we lean toward the “humane” methods that actually prolong the process and likely cause more suffering (not that making murderers suffer is a bad thing).
Make that Monty, Good grief!
Never saw that before. Thank you!
” Next time, a firing squad. Swift and sure.”
Exactly. No drama.
It’s the appeals process.
Done and Done.
There would be no writhing or heavy breathing if a 30.06 round impacted his forehead dead center. It’s absolutely pain free too.
I think a 30.06 round bought in quantity is about fifty cents in these days of Bidenflation.
I don’t understand. When we put our pets to sleep, it is quick and painless. Why not the same method for the human death penalty?
The writer is an idiot.
Oh, yee Gawds. How about a small caliber bullet to the back of the head. Even with today’s ammo prices, what? Two bucks?
Are you really that historically (and scientifically) illiterate?
My question got you uncomfortable.
Why not use that?"
Perhaps someone can explain.
The principle is called "inert gas asphyxiation." "Inert" means it doesn't readily react with anything else so it doesn't mingle with tissues or organs of the body to cause pain or other unpleasant side effects, like convulsions. All it does is displace the oxygen in the bloodstream so the brain dies from hypoxic hypoxia.
Carbon dioxide isn't inert. In fact, CO2 build-up is what triggers the urge to breathe. So if they used CO2 instead, it would cause a great deal of discomfort right from the git-go.
Nitrogen is inert. So is helium. I've mentioned several times in these threads how breathing helium from a party balloon makes you light-headed (a sensation some find pleasurable) but once you stop and take a breath of fresh air, because the gas was inert, there are no lingering side effects. Unless you breathe it too long, in which case you could pass out. Or die. And in either of the two latter cases, there still is no discomfort. Helium is now one of the "standard" protocols for assisted suicide, and for those very reasons. Doesn't matter whether it's helium of nitrogen, the processes and the consequences are the same.
And if you have a reliable method for killing that causes no discomfort in the process, you've just removed one of the key objections that the ANTI's always raise.
I agree, he should have passed out. Fake news, as a famous man once said.
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