Kenneth Eugene Smith: Alabama carries out first US nitrogen gas execution

Alabama has executed Kenneth Eugene Smith, a convicted murderer, using nitrogen gas—a first-of-its-kind capital punishment method in the United States.

The 58-year-old Smith exhausted all legal avenues, with two final appeals to the Supreme Court and one to a federal appeals court, contending that the execution constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

This execution follows a previous attempt in 2022, where Alabama’s effort to execute Smith by lethal injection was unsuccessful.

Smith’s conviction dates back to 1989 when he was found guilty of murdering Elizabeth Sennett, the wife of a preacher, in a killing-for-hire case.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Smith is the first person in the world to be executed using pure nitrogen gas.