Amnesty International’s recent demand for Alabama to halt the upcoming execution by nitrogen hypoxia has sparked a widespread conversation on the use of such methods in capital punishments. Slated to be carried out on Kenneth Eugene Smith, this particular execution has sparked international concern due to the particular circumstances of Smith’s case and the controversy surrounding the chosen execution method. Read more here.
In a plea to Alabama’s Governor Kay Ivey, Justin Mazzola, a researcher at Amnesty International, reiterated the organization’s stance against the death penalty as “the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment”. Moreover, unique elements of Smith’s case, including an attempted execution just 14 months prior, have been identified as particularly unsettling.
Smith, convicted of capital murder due to his involvement in the homicide of a forty-five-year-old woman, was sentenced to death as part of a four-person conspiracy coordinated by the victim’s husband. Demonstrating consistent remorse and maintaining good behavior while awaiting his execution, Smith’s case also carries the controversy of initially being voted 11 out of 12 in favor of life imprisonment without parole by the jury. This decision was overridden by the trial judge— a practice later banned by Alabama legislation in 2017.
Surviving the state’s first execution attempt via lethal injection, Smith’s attorneys have detailed the psychological and physical toll. This has led Alabama to consider using nitrogen hypoxia, a method involving the deprivation of oxygen by pumping nitrogen through an air-tight mask. While supporters herald this as a less painful method than common lethal injection techniques, critics believe it is posed with novel risks.
However, Amnesty International is not alone in its call to halt the execution. Recently, The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has also urged Alabama state authorities to cancel the execution. In light of these developments, the stage is set for more intense global scrutiny, deliberation, and potential reform in the ways in which death penalties are administered.