UN Experts Condemn Alabama's Controversial Nitrogen Gas Execution Method
A UN panel has expressed serious concerns over Alabama's plan to execute death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith using nitrogen hypoxia, an untested method that could result in "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture." Smith, convicted for a murder-for-hire in 1988, would be the first person executed by this method, which involves death by lack of oxygen. The panel urges a halt to the execution, citing potential violations of international conventions against torture. Previously, Smith's lethal injection execution was aborted due to technical difficulties.