The state of Alabama has executed Kenneth Eugene Smith by nitrogen hypoxia, an untested method never before used on a human being, in a procedure that witnesses described as violent and prolonged.
Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at 8:25 p. m. on January 25, 2024, at the William C.
Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.
The execution marked the first time in recorded history that nitrogen gas was used to carry out a death sentence, igniting a firestorm of international condemnation.
Smith was convicted for the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett, a 45-year-old pastor’s wife killed in her home in Sheffield, Alabama, in a plot orchestrated by her husband, Reverend Charles Sennett Sr.
The reverend, drowning in debt and carrying on an 𝒶𝒻𝒻𝒶𝒾𝓇, had taken out a large life insurance policy on his wife and hired three men to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 her for $1,000 each.
Smith and co-conspirator John Forrest Parker attacked Elizabeth with a survival knife, beating and stabbing her until she was left unconscious. Reverend Sennett allegedly delivered the final wound.
Charles Sennett Sr. took his own life when investigators began closing in. Parker was executed by lethal injection in 2010.
Smith faced two trials. In 1996, a jury voted 11 to one for a life sentence, but the judge overruled that recommendation and sentenced Smith to death under Alabama’s now-abolished judicial override law.
Smith’s first execution attempt on November 17, 2022, failed when execution teams could not set intravenous lines within the death warrant’s time limit.
He was strapped to a gurney for four hours, pleading for answers, after a stay of execution had been issued but not communicated clearly by prison officials.
As part of a settlement, Alabama agreed not to pursue lethal injection again, leaving Smith with the option of nitrogen hypoxia, a method never tested on a human.
Smith’s lawyers argued the procedure amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, citing risks of oxygen leakage, vomiting inside the mask, and prolonged suffering.
The state refused to release key details about the gas concentration or how the equipment was tested. Medical experts and the United Nations warned it could constitute torture.
On the day of his death, Smith’s final meal consisted of steak, hash browns, and eggs. He spent his last hours with his wife, Deanna, and other loved ones.
At 7:56 p. m. , a full-face mask was fitted over Smith.
Through it, he spoke his last words: “Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backwards. I leave with love, peace, and light. I love all of you.
Thank you for supporting me.”
Nitrogen flow began immediately. Witnesses reported that within one minute, Smith began thrashing violently. His body jerked, his fists clenched, his legs shook, and he gasped for air.
Fluid was observed inside the mask. Smith’s body lifted against the restraints for nearly half an hour before he was declared dead.
State officials had promised the method would be swift and painless, claiming loss of consciousness within seconds. Witnesses saw something entirely different.
The Alabama Attorney General’s office called the execution “justice served,” but the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned it as a potential form of torture.
Elizabeth Sennett’s son, Michael, told reporters after the execution that the family had forgiven all three men involved, noting that Smith and Parker had been incarcerated longer than he had known his mother.
Smith’s execution sets a precedent. On September 26, 2024, Alabama carried out a second nitrogen execution on Alan Eugene Miller. Other states are now exploring the method.
The case leaves an uncomfortable legacy. A jury voted to spare Smith’s life. A judge overruled them.
A failed execution attempt left him strapped down for hours. Then the state used an unproven method that made him writhe for 29 minutes.
His final words warned that humanity had taken a step backward. The question now is whether this method will become the new standard, or whether the world will pause to consider what justice truly requires.
When a man is put to death in a way that even his executioners cannot fully explain, in a way never done before, in a way that took nearly half an hour while witnesses watched him struggle, is that justice? Or is it something else?