"Alabama to Conduct First Nitrogen Gas Execution on Prisoner"

An Alabama prisoner is set to be executed using nitrogen gas in an experimental form of capital punishment, prompting global outcry from human rights organizations. The planned execution has been criticized for violating international human rights treaties, and concerns have been raised about the potential for prolonged and distressing execution. The inmate's attorney argued that a second execution attempt would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, while the state defended the method as the most painless and humane. The prisoner, Kenneth Eugene Smith, was convicted of a murder-for-hire scheme in 1988 and survived a failed lethal injection attempt in 2022.