Controversy Surrounds Alabama's Use of Nitrogen Gas Executions

A death row inmate in Alabama, Kenneth Smith, is fighting against being the first person to be executed using nitrogen gas. Smith's lawyers argue that he should not be used as a "test subject" for the untested execution method, which involves depriving the prisoner of oxygen by forcing them to breathe only nitrogen. While nitrogen hypoxia has been approved for use in three US states, it has not yet been used in an execution. Supporters claim it would be painless, but opponents compare it to human experimentation. Smith's lawyers also accuse the state of trying to expedite his execution to bypass his ongoing appeals and lawsuit challenging lethal injection procedures. Smith was convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire killing of Elizabeth Sennett.