Kenneth Eugene Smith, a death row inmate in Alabama, is scheduled to be executed using a method never before used in the United States – nitrogen gas.
Despite his plea claiming that the execution is a “cruel and unusual” punishment, the US Supreme Court has refused to block the execution.
Smith, now 58, was convicted in 1989 for his involvement in the murder of Elizabeth Sennett, the wife of a preacher, in a $1,000 killing-for-hire scheme. He admitted to being present during the crime but maintained his innocence, stating that he did not participate in the attack. His partner-in-crime, John Forrest Parker, was executed in 2010.
Smith’s lawyers filed a legal challenge to the Supreme Court, arguing that subjecting him to multiple execution attempts goes against the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects against “cruel and unusual punishment.” They also raised concerns about the untested nature of the nitrogen gas method and its potential for inflicting undue suffering.
However, on Wednesday, the US Supreme Court declined to hear Smith’s legal challenge and denied his request to stay the execution. No justice publicly dissented from the decision, indicating unanimous support for the ruling.
Smith may still have a potential avenue for a last-minute reprieve as a lower court considers the legality of Alabama’s nitrogen gas protocol.
