The US Prepares to execute a prisoner with a new method: nitrogen gas

Kenneth Smith, a man on death row in the United States state of Alabama, is preparing to become the first inmate to be executed with nitrogen gas, an experimental method that has not been tested on humans and scientists around the world have ruled out the cause. ethics

Alabama Judge Austin Huffaker last week approved the execution of Smith, 58, after rejecting defense arguments that the procedure would pose an “intolerable risk of harm.”

The case of Smith, who was sentenced to death in 1988 for the contract murder of Elizabeth Sennett, the wife of pastor Charles Sennett, has gradually gained more global attention. On Tuesday, Raveena Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the United Nations Human Rights Office, expressed her concern over the action, calling it “degrading treatment of human beings”.

“Nitrogen gas has never been used to execute humans in the United States. The American Veterinary Medical Association recommends sedation even when euthanizing large animals in this manner, while the Alabama protocol for execution by nitrogen asphyxiation does not sedate humans prior to execution. Shamdasani noted.

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The spokesman also recalled that Smith, who was subject to a failed execution attempt in November 2022 when authorities unsuccessfully administered the lethal drug by injection, has ongoing proceedings in federal court against his upcoming execution. resolved.

According to doctors at the prison where Smith is being held, the failed execution has left consequences on the man’s health, such as insomnia and a picture of depression and anxiety. A jury in Alabama voted 11 to 1 to sentence Smith to life in prison, but a lower court judge overturned the decision and allowed the inmate to be executed.

Barring a last-minute appeal, Smith will be executed on January 25. The United Nations Human Rights Office has called for a moratorium on capital punishment and to refrain from using this method for other executions.

“The death penalty is incompatible with the fundamental right to life. There is no evidence that it deters crime and poses an unacceptable risk of innocent people being executed. “Instead of finding new ways of applying the death penalty, we urge all states to halt its use as a step towards its universal abolition,” Shamdasani added.

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If the process continues, the Alabama Department of Corrections has said it will strap Smith to a gurney and put a mask on him to force him to breathe pure nitrogen. This will lead to lack of oxygen and then death. There is no mention of sedation of the prisoner within the protocol. According to scientists who have tested this method on animals, large mammals have shown resistance to this method, so they must be sedated before circulating the gas to avoid torture.

David Morton, emeritus professor of biomedical sciences and ethics at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, told The Guardian that the method is effective, but “can cause serious distress before unconsciousness and death.” In fact, it is a method of suffocation. “There are also likely to be significant differences between species, and we’re not sure what will happen in humans.”

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