Kenneth Smith Case: The US Alabama attorney has made a remarkable decision of sentencing a person to death by nitrogen gas execution which is very cruel. They have decided after a long delay in execution through legal injections by stating that the prisoner himself asked to be executed by this procedure. Know about how the attorney looked at the case and sentenced the person to death in an inhumane way rather than usual methods.
Kenneth Smith Execution:
Kenneth Smith was a 58-year-old American who was sentenced to death through a method called nitrogen hypoxia at William C. Holman correctional facility in Atmore, Alabama. He was accused in 1988 of murder for hire where he sentenced the preacher’s wife to death.
He was originally termed to be executed in November 2022 with legal injections however the sentence got delayed after several failed attempts to locate the vein to insert an intravenous line into the body. Though the Alabama attorneys stated Smith himself chose the method of Nitrogen Hypoxia in an argument Smith and his Attorney stated death through nitrogen hypoxia is called Cruel and Unusual in the U.S. Constitution.
What Is Nitrogen Hypoxia Method?:
The nitrogen hypoxia method is done through a mask fitted to a breathing tube which is fully administered with 100% nitrogen gas until the person dies. As per claims the nitrogen execution just takes minutes when the person loses consciousness and within minutes, he will be dead but Smith’s situation was different due to involuntary movement.
He held his breath as long as he could but ultimately, he had to breathe the nitrogen gas which led him to shake against the restraints for minutes and then breathe heavily for around 5 minutes and die. The attorneys stated as tghis now it is a proven method through which many more executions will take place after this first execution giving a way for many states to follow the same method for execution.
Debate Around Kenneth Smith Case:
This execution led to many debates and concerns regarding the execution methods. The UN Human Rights, EU, and civil liberty groups have raised voices against Kenneth Smith execution along with reporters who witnessed Kenneth’s execution and said this is entirely different from normal executions.
It is a very inhumane and unusual way of execution for any person facing the death penalty. Even the attorney stated “There was a lot of criticism around the execution saying it as inhumane and not painless death but this will in previous records in future that regard as losing consciousness within seconds of breathing nitrogen gas and dying within minutes” before the execution of Smith.
How People Die From Nitrogen Gas?:
It is difficult for our body to detect Nitrogen which accounts for 80% of inhaled air. Nitrogen will be in the form of inert gas which is not utilized by our body as nitrogen has no odor & color and is impossible for the body’s senses to detect nitrogen.
The human body is only capable of detecting oxygen as the body tissues need oxygen to live and exhale carbon dioxide. Nitrogen hypoxia is the method by which the person is not dead due to 100% nitrogen present in gas but instead of oxygen not present in the inhaled air where the body cells starve for oxygen which leads to death ultimately. But oxides of nitrogen are harmful to inhale which show many side effects upon breathing and is highly not recommended to breathe nitrogen oxides.
Conclusion:
This is the first nitrogen gas execution led by a US attorney after the denial of the Supreme Court of the US at the last minute tried to halt the execution. This execution of nitrogen hypoxia looks not harmful but it is a similar way to suicide where it is administrated by professionals.
The attorney stated the implementation of nitrogen hypoxia will be followed in the future along with many other states to implement this procedure in death penalty cases which is a concerning issue that is inhumane.
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