Keira Giacometti

2 April 2024

Alabama executed Kenneth Eugene Smith on January 26, 2024, in a new, cruel method: nitrogen gas. Nitrogen gas is odorless and colorless. It makes up 78% of Earth’s atmosphere, but it cannot support life on its own (1)(2). The gas is harmless when mixed with oxygen, yet when it displaces air or is inhaled without oxygen, it causes asphyxiation (2). Most deaths by nitrogen gas – known as nitrogen hypoxia – have been recorded as industrial accidents and suicide attempts (3). Never has the inhalation of nitrogen gas been used purposefully by another person or organization to harm someone else. Smith’s death is not something Alabama should be proud of. Execution by nitrogen gas is extremely dangerous and poses terrifying implications for the future of capital punishment. 

In 1988, Smith was found guilty of killing Elizabeth Sennett in a murder-for-hire (4). He has been on death row since then, awaiting his demise. Originally, he was supposed to be killed in 2022, but the lethal injection never happened as the IV line could not be connected (4). The question of whether Smith could be put to death by nitrogen made its way to the Supreme Court, where, in a 6-3 vote, it was determined that Alabama could go through with the execution. Justice Sotomayor wrote in her dissent that “Alabama has selected [Smith] as its ‘guinea pig’ to test a method of execution never attempted before” (5). Alabama chose to use Smith as an experiment to see if nitrogen gas could replace lethal injection as the main form of capital punishment, as the drugs used in lethal injection are difficult to procure (3). Normally, we describe human experimentation as unethical and immoral. Additionally, the point must be raised that there are many humans trying to stop testing on animals – which humans fall under the category of – so then, why was Smith’s death allowed? Testing nitrogen gas on him is no different than testing nitrogen gas on a rabbit or a pig, which we, as a society, have acknowledged is not ethical. Also, had he survived the execution–a rare expectation, but one we must consider – Smith would’ve experienced extreme physical pain as well as mental trauma (6) from being strapped down and asphyxiated. Add that on top of the general unpleasantness of America’s prison system, and we’re left with an extremely traumatized victim with little support. That doesn’t sound like something anyone should go through. 

 Did Alabama successfully create a painless and non-traumatizing way to implement nitrogen? Was that option even possible? Did Smith go as gently into that good night as he could’ve with lethal injection? 

No. Kenneth Eugene Smith was strapped tightly to a gurney, and an oxygen mask was secured over his mouth and nose to ensure no guard inhaled the gas. Instead of oxygen, nitrogen was pumped through the mask. For several minutes, he remained conscious. Then, he fell unconscious and began to writhe, before he finally fell into a state of heavy breathing that slowly tapered off. He was pronounced dead at 8:25 pm, 22 minutes after the viewing room curtains opened (4). Before he lost consciousness, he signed I love you to the family members watching. His family had to see him act as an experiment, not knowing what to expect or how he would react. They also had to watch him with the knowledge that his lawyer had been unable to prevent this experiment (4). All in all, witnessing Smith’s death sounds like a real-life nightmare.

Killing someone with nitrogen is simple, as nitrogen gas shuts down the respiratory system (7). However, there’s no time limit on how long it will take for someone to lose consciousness when they are exposed to nitrogen gas (7). Someone inhaling pure nitrogen can also choke from lack of oxygen and vomit into the mask (3). Furthermore, being strapped down to a table with a tight mask over their face could make anyone panic, causing further complications, such as an increased heart rate, early blackouts, and increased blood pressure (as well as more vomiting) (3). And one can’t forget the dangers of a guard or family member watching. If the mask is not tightened enough on the prisoner, then the risk of exposing others to the gas runs high, causing them pain, turmoil, and even death. 

All of those possible consequences sound like they can be considered cruel and unusual punishment. The electric chair was phased out because of botched electrocutions and the torture to which many victims had been subjected (8). The possibility of transitioning from lethal injection to nitrogen gas, called a cruel and unusual punishment by Sotomayor (6), feels like a massive step backward in terms of humane death. The American Veterinary Medical Association even writes that putting certain mammals to death by nitrogen gas would “create an anoxic environment that is distressing” (9). If nitrogen death is truly cruel, then what can be done to prevent it from becoming the next big death sentence? 

Death by nitrogen gas is only legal in three states: Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alabama (3). The other 47 states can – and should – craft a policy that keeps nitrogen gas off of death row. More than likely, nitrogen gas will not be banned at the federal level, so the best case is to get these policies passed at the state level. If the state is hesitant to draft such a law, then citizens have to call in and ask their representatives to keep nitrogen gas from being used in place of lethal injection. Or, citizens can protest the use of nitrogen gas. Inform others about the dangers. Don’t let Kenneth Eugene Smith’s death be relegated to a trial that proves more harm can be done. 

The death penalty is not going to be banned, even with all of the statistics that point to its beneficial dismantlement. However, we as a society can do more to keep it as humane as possible. Make sure the inmates are comfortable; don’t strap them onto what is essentially a death table. We shouldn’t be inventing new “harmless” ways of death that end up being more tortuous than the one that precedes it. That’s not fair to the inmates. We have to remember, even for all of the horrible crimes an inmate on death row committed, they are human too. No one’s final moments should be spent in pain, much less as an experiment.  

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Image via Pexels Free Photos.

Works Cited

(1) Change, NASA Global Climate. “10 Interesting Things about Air.” Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet, 12 Sept. 2016, climate.nasa.gov/news/2491/10-interesting-things-about-air/#:~:text=The%20air%20in%20Earth%27s%20atmosphere.

(2) Pubchem. “Nitrogen.” Nih.gov, 2019, pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/nitrogen.

(3) Chandler, Kim. “Alabama Plans to Carry out First Nitrogen Gas Execution. How Will It Work and What Are the Risks?” AP News, 21 Jan. 2024, apnews.com/article/nitrogen-gas-execution-alabama-c3c813841bcebdf0f77371fc7f1da3d9.

(4) Chandler, Kim. “Alabama Executes a Man with Nitrogen Gas, the First Time the New Method Has Been Used.” AP News, 26 Jan. 2024, apnews.com/article/nitrogen-execution-death-penalty-alabama-699896815486f019f804a8afb7032900#:~:text=It%20.

(5) Zivot, Joel. “Killing Convicts with Nitrogen Is Even Worse than the Lethal Injection.” Al Jazeera, 22 Sept. 2023, www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/9/22/killing-convicts-with-nitrogen-is-even-worse-than-the-lethal-injection.

(6) Eugene, Kenneth, et al. SUPREME COURT of the UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER, ALABAMA DEPARTMENT of CORRECTIONS, et AL. ON APPLICATION for STAY and on PETITION for a WRIT of CERTIORARI to the UNITED STATES COURT of APPEALS for the ELEVENTH CIRCUIT. 2024.

(7) Mascarenhas, Lauren. “Nitrogen Gas Execution: How It Works.” CNN, 25 Jan. 2024, www.cnn.com/2024/01/25/us/nitrogen-gas-execution/index.html#.

(8) Human Rights Watch. “US: Electric Chair Banned as Cruel, Unusual Punishment.” Human Rights Watch, 7 Feb. 2008, 

www.hrw.org/news/2008/02/07/us-electric-chair-banned-cruel-unusual-punishment.

(9) Leary, Steven, and Cia Johnson. AVMA GUIDELINES for the EUTHANASIA of ANIMALS: 2020 EDITION AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals: 2020 Edition* Members of the Panel on Euthanasia AVMA Staff Consultants. 2020.