EU, UN rights office express regret for Alabama nitrogen gas execution

by Tara Suter - 01/26/24 8:45 AM ET

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher's wife. Alabama will be allowed to put Smith to death with nitrogen gas later this month, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, clearing the way for what would be the nation’s first execution under a new method the inmate’s lawyers criticize as cruel and experimental. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, File) — FILE – This undated photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted in a 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher’s wife. Alabama will be allowed to put Smith to death with nitrogen gas later this month, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, clearing the way for what would be the nation’s first execution under a new method the inmate’s lawyers criticize as cruel and experimental. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, File)

The European Union (EU) and the United Nations (U.N.) Human Rights Office are expressing regret for the first nitrogen gas execution in the U.S., which Alabama carried out Thursday.

The death penalty infringes on the right to life and does not dissuade crime, both organizations said.

Kenneth Eugene Smith, convicted for a 1988 murder-for-hire killing, was executed via nytrogen hypoxia.

Smith was shaking for two minutes following the execution’s beginning, media witnesses reported.

“He was writhing and clearly suffering,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office. “Rather than looking for novel, untested methods to execute people, let’s just bring an end to the death penalty. This is an anachronism that doesn’t belong in the 21st century.”

Meanwhile, the diplomatic service of the EU said in a statement that “[a]ccording to leading experts, this method is a particularly cruel and unusual punishment.”

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier Thursday denied a bid to halt the execution. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan dissented, with Sotomayor noting the method used in Smith’s execution was “untested.”

“Having failed to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama has selected him as its ‘guinea pig’ to test a method of execution never attempted before,” Sotomayor wrote. “The world is watching. This Court yet again permits Alabama to ‘experiment … with a human life,’ while depriving Smith of ‘meaningful discovery’ on meritorious constitutional claims.”

Sotomayor also wrote she was dissenting with “deep sadness, but commitment to the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment.”

The Associated Press contributed.

Tags Alabama Death penalty Elena Kagan European Union Ketanji Brown Jackson Sonia Sotomayor