Alabama is seeking to become the first state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe pure nitrogen. The Alabama attorney general’s office has asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date for death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, using the method of nitrogen hypoxia. Nitrogen hypoxia involves forcing the inmate to breathe only nitrogen, depriving them of oxygen and causing them to die. This method has never been used before, although it is authorized in three states – Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.
Nitrogen hypoxia is seen as a potential alternative to lethal injections due to a shortage of the necessary drugs. However, there are concerns over the constitutionality and ethics of this method. While its proponents argue that it would be painless, opponents compare it to human experimentation.
The Equal Justice Initiative, a legal advocacy group, stated that Alabama has a history of “failed and flawed executions and execution attempts” and called experimenting with an unused method “a terrible idea.” The organization stressed that no other state in the country has executed a person using nitrogen hypoxia.
Alabama attempted to execute Kenneth Eugene Smith by lethal injection last year, but had to call off the execution due to difficulties in inserting an IV into his veins. Smith was convicted for the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher’s wife. Governor Kay Ivey announced a pause on executions after the failed attempt to review lethal injection procedures.
Alabama has been secretive about their plans to use nitrogen hypoxia. The attorney general’s court filing did not provide details on how the execution would be carried out. However, the state’s Corrections Commissioner, John Hamm, mentioned that a protocol is nearly complete.
As Alabama seeks to use the untested method of nitrogen hypoxia, legal battles over its constitutionality are expected to intensify.
