BREAKING: Alabama death row nitrogen hypoxia inmate loses last ditch appeal

Alabama death row inmate, Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, lost a last ditch effort for a stay of execution and is scheduled to be put to death with nitrogen gas, which is less painful than his victim who was stabbed to death.

Smith was convicted of the March 18, 1988 murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Sennett. Her husband, Charles Sennett Sr., hired a man named Billy Gray Williams to murder Elizabeth, and Williams, in turn, recruited Smith and John Forrest Parker to assist in the murder. The pair worked in concert and stabbed Elizabeth Sennett to death in her home in Colbert County, Alabama.

When her husband found that he too was a suspect in the murder, he killed himself. 

And on a happy note, Billy Gray Williams was sentenced to life without the chance of parole and died in the slammer in November 2020. Smith and John Forrest Parker were both sentenced to death and Parker got on the Hell Express via lethal injection in 2010.

Now it's Smith's turn and we shall see how this turns out. He's scheduled for execution Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, which is tomorrow as of this post.

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Alabama Supreme Court will allow new execution method for inmate who murderer

An Alabama Supreme Court comprised of all Republicans was divided Wednesday as to whether an inmate would be executed with nitrogen gas to carry out his death sentence.

Well it turns out in a 6-2 decision that this method will be allowed and Kenneth Eugene Smith will be the first to meet his Maker this way.

Although the order did not specify the execution method, the Alabama attorney general indicated in filings with the court that it intends to use nitrogen to put Smith to death. The exact date of the execution will be set later by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.

Smith was one of two men convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire killing of Elizabeth Sennett in Colbert County.

Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma are states that had authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method but Alabama will likely be the first to use it if the execution goes through. However, there will probably be further litigation over this new execution method.

"Elizabeth Sennett's family has waited an unconscionable 35 years to see justice served. Today, the Alabama Supreme Court cleared the way for Kenneth Eugene Smith to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia," Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall wrote. "Though the wait has been far too long, I am grateful that our capital litigators have nearly gotten this case to the finish line."

An attorney for Smith did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Lawyers for Smith had urged the court to reject the execution request, perhaps because it's unsafe for Smith.

"The state seeks to make Mr. Smith the test subject for the first ever attempted execution by an untested and only recently released protocol for executing condemned people by the novel method of nitrogen hypoxia," Smith’s attorneys wrote in a September court filing.

I say whatever works.

Under the proposed method, the inmate would be forced to breathe only nitrogen, depriving them of oxygen needed to maintain bodily functions and causing them to die. Nitrogen is mixed with oxygen in our atmosphere and comprises 78% of the air we breathe. 

While some say using nitrogen to kill a scumbag like Smith would be painless, others say it might not be and he should be able to die comfortably, like the former VA Gov. Ralph Northam said, as he believes that unwanted newborns should be made to feel comfortable before the mother decides to kill him or her.

So Smith can be a ground-breaker and get his name into the history books--that would be his only good accomplishment it seems.

The state unsuccessfully attempted to put Smith to death by lethal injection last year. The Alabama Department of Corrections called off the execution when the execution team could not get the required two intravenous lines connected to Smith. But at least they did get the isopropyl alcohol to sterilize the needle to avoid infection.

Smith's attorneys previously accused the state of trying to move Smith to "the front of the line" for a nitrogen execution in order to moot Smith’s lawsuit challenging lethal injection procedures, but there was no line.

Chief Justice Tom Parker and Justice Greg Cook dissented in Wednesday's decision.

Smith was one of two scumcrumpets who were each paid $1,000 to kill Ms. Sennett on behalf of her pastor husband, who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance, for God's sake. The pastor killed himself the following week and likely never made it to the promised land.

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Alabama man in slammer to be 1st guy executed using nitrogen sans oxygen

Alabama might become the first in the nation to put a scumbag to death using pure nitrogen to breathe until his body starves for oxygen and he breathes no more. 

While this method of execution is authorized in three states, none have used it as yet and for death-row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, he might be the first to. go. all. the. way. 

The office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall asked the state Supreme Court in a court filing on Friday to set an execution date for 58-year-old Smith. The filing revealed Alabama intends to put him to death by nitrogen hypoxia.

Smith was one of two men who were convicted in a murder-for-hire killing of a preacher's wife in 1988.

"It is a travesty that Kenneth Smith has been able to avoid his death sentence for nearly 35 years after being convicted of the heinous murder-for-hire slaying of an innocent woman, Elizabeth Sennett," Marshall said in a statement.

Nitrogen hypoxia results when a person breathes only nitrogen and is deprived of oxygen, which then kills him. While nitrogen is basically harmless and is abundant in the air we normally breathe, at 78%, it is combined with oxygen which is what our bodies need to keep us alive. When only nitrogen is being processed by an individual, hypoxia results and in this case, Smith will get what he gave: death.

Alabama authorized nitrogen hypoxia in 2018 during a shortage of drugs used to carry out lethal injections, but the state has not used the method to carry out a death sentence. Oklahoma and Mississippi also authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method but have not used it. Perhaps they should consider it in the future.

Proponents of the new, cheap and kind of cool execution method have said that it would be painless, but opponents have argued that it is a form of human experimentation. The new revelation that Alabama is preparing to use nitrogen hypoxia is expected to spark new legal battles over its constitutionality.

The Equal Justice Initiative, a somewhat bleeding heart legal advocacy group that opposes the death penalty because they have likely never had someone close to them be murdered, said Alabama has a history of "failed and flawed executions and execution attempts" and "experimenting with a never before used method is a terrible idea."

"No state in the country has executed a person using nitrogen hypoxia and Alabama is in no position to experiment with a completely unproven and unused method for executing someone," Equal Justice Initiative senior attorney Angie Setzer said.

It isn't much of an experiment since it's known that it will work, but people who oppose the death penalty will always find an excuse to allow such scum to live, unlike what they did to other individuals.

Alabama tried to execute Smith by lethal injection last year but failed to carry it out because of issues with inserting an IV into his veins. This was the second time in two months and the third since 2018 that the state was unsuccessful in putting an inmate to death. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey announced the day after Smith's failed execution that executions would be paused to allow an internal review of lethal injection procedures.

Lethal injections in Alabama resumed last month. Unfortunately, Hammurabi's code, the most famous example of "lex talionis" or law of retribution, is not permitted.

The state has been working to develop the nitrogen hypoxia execution method for several years but has not revealed many details about its plans. Corrections Commissioner John Hamm told reporters last month that a protocol was nearly complete.

The attorney general's court filing did not disclose the details of how the execution would be carried out.

Elizabeth Sennett was found dead in the home she shared with her husband in Colbert County on March 18, 1988. Prosecutors said Smith was one of two men who were each paid $1,000 to kill Sennett on behalf of her pastor husband, who was in huge debt and wanted to collect insurance money.

The victim’s husband, Charles Sennett, killed himself when the investigation began looking at him as a possible suspect, according to court documents. The other man convicted in the killing was executed in 2010.

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