The American state of Alabama executed a convict by nitrogen inhalation on Thursday, a world first that the UN had denounced in advance, comparing this method of execution to a form of “torture”. Kenneth Eugene Smith, definitively sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of a woman ordered by her husband, died at Atmore penitentiary at 8:25 p.m. local time (02:25 GMT Friday), 29 minutes after the start of the execution, announced a statement from the Alabama Attorney General.
“Justice has been served. Tonight, Kenneth Smith was put to death for the despicable act he committed 35 years ago,” Marshall said, saying Alabama had “accomplished something historical”. According to the local CBS network, where a journalist attended the execution, Kenneth Eugene Smith’s last words were: “Tonight, Alabama took humanity a step backwards (… ) I go with love, peace and light (…) Thank you for supporting me. I love you all.”
On Thursday morning, he had a final meal of steak, hash browns and eggs, according to prison officials. Once the execution began, Kenneth Eugene Smith “began writhing and thrashing for approximately two to four minutes, followed by approximately five minutes of heavy breathing,” local news outlet AL.com reported, citing witnesses. . The convict appears to have “held his breath as long as he could,” Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm told reporters.
This is the first execution of the year in the United States, where 24 have been carried out in 2023, all by lethal injection. This is the first time in more than 40 years that a new method of execution has been used in this country.
“Torture”
A previous attempt by lethal injection, on November 17, 2022, was canceled at the last minute, the intravenous infusions to administer the lethal solution to Mr. Smith not having been able to be placed within the legally allotted time, although he remained attached for several hours. Alabama, located in the southeastern United States, is one of three US states allowing execution by nitrogen inhalation, in which death is caused by hypoxia (oxygen depletion).
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on January 16 that it was “warned” by the use of a “new and untested method of execution”. This “could constitute torture or other cruel or degrading treatment under international law,” warned a spokesperson for the High Commission, Ravina Shamdasani, calling for a stay of this execution. Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia execution protocol does not provide for sedation, while the American Veterinary Association (AVMA) recommends administering a sedative to animals euthanized this way, the spokesperson noted. .
“Completely experimental”
All appeals and requests for a reprieve from the 58-year-old convict were rejected, including on Wednesday by the Supreme Court. The highest court in the country, with a conservative majority, was seized of a final appeal by the convicted person on Thursday, but did not follow up on it. In its written arguments to the Supreme Court, the State even went so far as to present nitrogen hypoxia as “perhaps the most humane method of execution ever invented.” “The Alabama authorities missed three executions in a row in 2022, including that of Kenneth Eugene Smith,” said the executive director of the specialized observatory Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), Robin Maher.
“Maybe they feel more comfortable moving to a completely different mode of execution, even if it’s completely experimental and has never been tested,” she continued in an interview with the ‘AFP.
Disavowed jurors
He was convicted of the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett, 45, ordered by her husband, Charles Sennett, a heavily indebted and unfaithful pastor, to make it appear as a burglary gone wrong. Despite the husband’s suicide, the police traced the two murderers. Kenneth Eugene Smith’s accomplice, John Forrest Parker, sentenced to death, was executed in 2010. Kenneth Smith was also sentenced to death for the first time but the trial was overturned on appeal. During his second trial in 1996, 11 of the 12 jurors favored a life sentence.
But as at the trial of his accomplice, the judge ignored the opinion of the jurors and sentenced him to the death penalty, a possibility existing at the time in a few states but now abolished throughout the United States. In its annual report in December, the DPIC specified that most prisoners executed in 2023 in the United States “would probably not be sentenced to death today”, due in particular to the consideration of mental health problems and trauma. defendants or legislative changes to impose the death penalty.
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 American states, while six others observe a moratorium on its application by decision of the governor.