Alabama inmate executed with nitrogen gas
In a groundbreaking and controversial move, Alabama executed an inmate using nitrogen gas, a method never before tested or used in the United States. CBS News' Lilia Luciano reports.
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In a groundbreaking and controversial move, Alabama executed an inmate using nitrogen gas, a method never before tested or used in the United States. CBS News' Lilia Luciano reports.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he expects to see nitrogen hypoxia used in more executions.
The state of Alabama was criticized by several groups, including the United Nations and the European Union, after it executed a death row inmate Thursday night using the controversial method of nitrogen hypoxia. Kenneth Smith's spiritual adviser said the nitrogen method amounted to torture, but Alabama officials disagree. Manuel Bojorquez has more.
Alabama authorities executed Kenneth Eugene Smith with nitrogen gas Thursday night despite controversy over the method. Smith was one of three men convicted in the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett. Dr. Keith Ray, associate professor and chair of criminal justice and social sciences at Alabama State University, joined CBS News to discuss the execution.
Kenneth Eugene Smith, a death row inmate in Alabama, is expected to become the first person in the U.S. executed with nitrogen gas. Manuel Bojorquez reports.
Kenneth Eugene Smith is scheduled to be the first person in the United States to be put to death with nitrogen gas after the Supreme Court refused to stop the procedure. Experts have repeatedly warned that nitrogen toxicity may cause the condemned person to suffer unnecessarily. Kim Bellware, a reporter with The Washington Post, joins CBS News with more.
Politicians pushed for the nitrogen gas execution method with limited scientific research behind it. Critics say it could amount to torture.
The inmate, Kenneth Eugene Smith, already survived a botched execution attempt by lethal injection in 2022.
The judge's order clears the way for what would be the nation's first execution using nitrogen gas — a method the inmate's lawyers criticize as cruel and experimental.
Experts have denounced Alabama's planned execution of a death row inmate by nitrogen hypoxia — an untested suffocation method that they say could cause "grave suffering."
Alabama is preparing to employ a new method of execution using nitrogen gas following botched attempts at lethal injections last year.
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Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi have OK'd nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method but no state has tried to use it. More litigation over the issue is seen as likely.
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Alabama would be the first to use that method. A number of inmates agree as they seek to block their executions by lethal injection.
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Five people were injured in the shooting involving multiple suspects. One person is currently listed in critical condition, the university said.
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