Alabama is set to carry out the first American execution using nitrogen gas on Thursday evening, potentially opening a new frontier in how states execute death row prisoners despite concerns from death penalty opponents about the untested method.
As it stands, prison officials plan to begin the execution around 6 p.m. Central time.
Mr. Smith, 58, is one of three men convicted in the 1988 murder of a woman whose husband, a pastor, had recruited them to kill her.
The protocol released by prison officials calls for strapping Mr. Smith to a gurney in the state’s execution chamber in Atmore, Ala., after which a mask will be placed on his head and a flow of nitrogen will be released into it, depriving him of oxygen.
It would be the second time the state has tried to kill Mr. Smith, after a failed lethal injection in November 2022 in which executioners could not find a suitable vein before his death warrant expired.
Persons:
Kenneth Smith, Smith, strapping Mr, gurney
Organizations:
Alabama, U.S, Supreme
Locations:
Atmore, Ala