Alabama’s Uncharted Territory: Execution by Nitrogen Hypoxia
Alabama might soon step into uncharted territory as it considers executing a prisoner using pure nitrogen, a method that no state has ventured into before. This peculiar approach, greenlit by three states but never employed, is now raising eyebrows and questions.
The legal wheels are in motion. The office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a request with the state Supreme Court to set an execution date for Kenneth Eugene Smith, a 58-year-old inmate on death row. What sets this apart is the plan to employ nitrogen hypoxia, a method involving the inhalation of pure nitrogen to replace oxygen, ultimately leading to death.
The backdrop to this story is dark – Smith was found guilty of the 1988 murder-for-hire of a preacher’s wife. Marshall’s stern words capture the gravity of the situation: “It is a travesty that Kenneth Smith has been able to avoid his death sentence for nearly 35 years after being convicted of the heinous murder-for-hire slaying of an innocent woman, Elizabeth Sennett.”
The Nitrogen Hypoxia Game Changer
So, how does this nitrogen hypoxia thing work? Well, it’s like this: normally, we breathe in a mix of oxygen and nitrogen. Oxygen keeps us alive, while nitrogen just hangs out, minding its own business. But when you throw out the oxygen and make someone breathe pure nitrogen, things get deadly. It’s like inviting a party crasher who turns out to be the Grim Reaper.
Here’s a twist – Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi had the idea to use nitrogen hypoxia when the drugs for lethal injections went missing. It was like, “Hey, nitrogen, wanna fill in for oxygen?” But, guess what? None of these states actually gave it a shot. So, Alabama’s saying, “Why not us?”
The Battle of Views
Nitrogen hypoxia is a bit of a hot potato in the legal world. The supporters claim it’s the smoothest way to go, like slipping into a deep sleep. But, you’ve got the opposers who think it’s a messed-up science experiment on humans. Alabama’s newfound enthusiasm for this method is likely to start some courtroom fireworks about whether it’s even constitutional.
An advocacy group, the Equal Justice Initiative, is waving the red flag. They’re like, “Hold on, Alabama. You’ve got a track record of execution mishaps, and now you’re dabbling in untested methods? Bad idea, folks.”
A Rocky Execution Journey
Now, Alabama isn’t new to the execution game. They tried to do the lethal injection thing last year, but the IV situation got all wonky. It was like trying to plug in a USB cable in the dark – frustrating and unproductive. So, they hit pause on the whole execution business and did some soul-searching on their methods.
Fast forward to today, and Alabama is back to giving lethal injections a go. But hey, they haven’t forgotten about the nitrogen party either. They’ve been working behind the scenes, cooking up a nitrogen hypoxia execution recipe. They’re keeping the recipe under wraps, but we can imagine it doesn’t involve mixing flour and sugar.
A Murderous Tale
Let’s backtrack to why Kenneth Smith is in this pickle. The year was 1988, and Elizabeth Sennett, a preacher’s wife, met a gruesome end. Smith was accused of being part of a deadly duo who, for a thousand bucks each, decided to play a wicked game of “let’s get rid of the wife.” Sennett’s husband was swimming in debt and wanted some insurance money to bail him out. Things got even weirder when he took his own life as the investigation heated up.
The saga isn’t over yet, and the story of nitrogen hypoxia adds a new chapter to Alabama’s dark history of capital punishment. Whether it becomes a reality or just another footnote is yet to be seen.
(Note: This rewrite maintains the main points of the original article while simplifying language and adding a touch of humor.)