Witness Reverend Jeff Hood informed reporters that he witnessed Smith—the first death row inmate killed using nitrogen hypoxia in the United States—”struggling for their life” for 22 minutes.
Kenneth Eugene Smith, a death row inmate from Alabama, became the first person in US history to be killed by nitrogen gas. The procedure is controversial.
Smith, 58, was declared dead at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, on Thursday at 8:25 p.m. CT. This occurred over three decades after Smith was found guilty in the 1988 Elizabeth Sennett murder-for-hire scheme.
Witnessing the execution, his spiritual advisor Reverend Jeff Hood described to the media what he observed as a guy “struggling for their life” for an astounding 22 minutes.
Though they had predicted that the unproven approach would cause unconsciousness in a matter of seconds and death in minutes, Alabama authorities maintain that the execution proceeded as planned.
Witnesses reported that Smith, however, shook and writhed on the gurney for a few minutes while appearing aware.
According to Rev. Hood, “We didn’t witness somebody go unconscious in 30 seconds.” “What we witnessed was a person fighting for their life for several minutes.”
Smith passed away as a result of the US Supreme Court rejecting his last-ditch attempt to avoid execution. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented from the decision, stating that Smith had been chosen as a “guinea pig” by the state through the use of an unproven procedure.
