As lethal injection drugs run out, what’s the future of death row executions? – By Hanna Seariac (Deseret News) / Jan 25, 2024
Nitrogen gas and firing squad are alternative execution methods states are looking at
Alabama is set to execute an inmate Thursday using nitrogen gas.
The inmate, Kenneth Eugene Smith, was convicted of murdering Elizabeth Sennett for $1,000. The jury recommended a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. The judge overrode the recommendation and sentenced Smith to death, according to court documents.
The state of Alabama attempted to execute Smith via lethal injection on Nov. 17, 2022, but officials called off the execution after they could not find a suitable vein to administer the drugs.
As for the execution scheduled for Thursday, Smith filed a motion for a preliminary injunction claiming that this scheduled execution via nitrogen hypoxia would violate the First, Eighth and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution along with the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and the Alabama Constitution’s Religious Freedom Amendment.
