Kenneth Eugene Smith, a convicted murderer, made history as the first man in the United States to be executed using nitrogen gas. This controversial method has sparked outrage among human rights activists, as well as condemnation from the United Nations and the White House. The execution, which lasted for 22 minutes, was witnessed by several individuals, including Reverend Jeff Hood, who described it as a “horror show.”
Reverend Hood, acting as Smith’s spiritual advisor, recounted the shocking scene he witnessed during the execution. Even the prison staff themselves were unable to conceal their shock and surprise at the events unfolding before them. “There was clear shock and surprise on their faces. In that circumstance it’s hard to know what is what, but I know what I saw in terms of the horror on the faces of people in front of me,” Reverend Hood shared with The New York Post. He further added that he heard audible gasps from those present as Smith struggled to breathe. The intensity of the situation was so profound that Reverend Hood likened it to a scene straight out of a Hollywood production. “It’s a scene that will never leave me,” he admitted.
The execution took place at Alabama’s Holman Prison and marked a departure from the commonly used method of lethal injection in the United States. Nitrogen hypoxia execution, deemed an “untested human experiment” by human rights activists, involves forcing the prisoner to breathe nitrogen instead of oxygen through a respirator mask. While the prison authorities assured that this method would result in instantaneous death, the actual execution proved to be far from it, according to Reverend Hood. He expressed his disappointment at the prolonged suffering Smith endured during his final moments. “They said all along that this was going to be nearly instantaneous… What we saw last night was minutes, minutes, and minutes of a horror show,” Reverend Hood lamented. He vividly described Smith’s appearance as that of a “fish out of water, flapping over and over again.”
The White House expressed deep concern over the execution, stating that they were “deeply troubled” by the manner in which it was carried out. The United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Turk, along with the European Union and various civil liberties groups, also voiced their unease regarding Smith’s execution.
Kenneth Eugene Smith had been on death row for over three decades after being convicted of the 1988 murder-for-hire of a pastor’s wife. The controversial use of nitrogen gas as a means of execution has sparked a larger debate about the ethics and humanity of capital punishment in the United States. As activists and organizations continue to condemn this method, the future of executions in the country remains uncertain.