Alabama Execuated KennethSmith    with nitrogen gas: Confirms Gov kaylvey

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Smith became the first person in the United States and the world to be put to death by nitrogen hypoxia.[24]

First death warrant and failed execution attempt

Smith was initially scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on November 17, 2022.[

Kenneth Eugene Smith (July 4, 1965 – January 25, 2024) was an American criminal who was convicted of the March 18, 1988, murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Sennett in Colbert County, Alabama.

November 2022, Smith was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection, but the execution was stopped after the execution team was unable to connect the intravenous lines to Smith in the time available before the expiration of the death warrant issued by the Alabama Supreme Court. As part of a settlement between the state and Smith, the state agreed not to pursue Smith's execution by lethal injection (the default primary method of execution in Alabama) and instead utilize a secondary novel method of execution, nitrogen hypoxia.

Breathing pure nitrogen without oxygen causes the cells to break down and leads to death. Alabama said in a court

The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights has said gassing Smith could amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and called for a halt.