The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has recently appealed to Alabama state authorities in an attempt to halt the upcoming execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith, scheduled for next week. The execution is planned to proceed using nitrogen hypoxia, a method which has sparked widespread human rights concerns.
Türk’s statement highlights the potential of this execution method to breach prohibitions against torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatments. It also screws on Smith’s right to effective remedies. The arguments are rooted in the
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which are both treaties the US is bound to uphold.
In his statement, Türk also points to guidelines issued by the American Veterinary Medical Association. These guidelines recommend the application of a sedative to animals prior to euthanization with nitrogen, explaining that the sedative constrains the animal from resisting the unpleasant odors of nitrogen and other possible mechanisms of suffering. The UN statement highlights the discrepancies with these guidelines and Alabama’s execution protocol, which currently does not provide for the sedation of human beings prior to execution.
Following these remarks, Türk commented on the overall issue of capital punishment, deeming it inconsistent with the fundamental right to life. He added that it carries an unacceptable risk of executing innocent parties, and, moreover, that there is no solid proof linking it to deterrence of crimes. Rather than devising novel ways of imposing capital punishment, he appealed to all states to initiate a moratorium on its use – a step towards universal abolition.
Kenneth Eugene Smith has been on death row since his conviction for murder in 1988, which sentenced him to life imprisonment without parole. Smith filed for an injunction on the execution, challenging the use of nitrogen hypoxia under the First Amendment, Eighth Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment of the American Constitution. However, this injunction was overruled by a federal judge last week, enabling Alabama to continue with the scheduled execution.
This plea by the UN High Commissioner is not the first time the UN has voiced concerns over this particular execution. Earlier this month, four UN experts also implored the US officials to cancel the execution. Meanwhile, concerns continue to be echoed domestically in the US, with commentators arguing that execution via nitrogen hypoxia falls foul of the Eighth Amendment, which forbids ‘cruel and unusual punishment.’
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