As of: January 25, 2024, 4:58 a.m
By: Bettina Menzel
Comments
Press
Split
A new method of execution is to be used in the USA for the first time in 40 years.
Death by nitrogen is untested and controversial.
Lawyers are now turning to the Supreme Court.
Washington, DC – Kenneth Eugene Smith is scheduled to be executed in the US state of Alabama on Thursday (January 25).
A new method is to be used for the first time: Nitrogen is to be supplied to the man via a face mask and death will occur through suffocation.
According to the man's lawyers, there are too many unanswered questions and they have now turned to the Supreme Court of the United States.
This emerges from documents published by the Supreme Court on Friday.
Controversial execution with nitrogen planned in the USA: Many questions remain unanswered
The attorneys' outstanding questions revolve around nitrogen hypoxia, an "execution method that has never been tested by any state or federal government," the attorneys' petition said.
Judge Austin Huffaker made a decision in favor of nitrogen as the new method of execution on January 10th.
Smith's lawyers had failed to show that nitrogen asphyxiation constituted a "cruel and unusual" punishment, the statement said.
For the first time in over 40 years, this paved the way for a new type of execution in the USA.
A new, controversial form of execution is being introduced in the USA.
The lawyers of the first death row inmate are only going to the Supreme Court.
© imago/Symbolbild
The death row candidate is supplied with pure nitrogen via a mask through his mouth and nose, causing death due to a lack of oxygen.
The gas would be administered either for 15 minutes or until five minutes after cardiac arrest was detected - whichever was longer, according to the planned procedure.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall believes that oxygen deprivation can lead to unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes.
Second execution attempt on death row inmates – lawyers appeal to court
Smith's lawyers, however, see numerous problems with the untested method.
In their petition to the US highest court, they also argue the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments”.
In their opinion, the mask could not be airtight and thus prolong the agony.
The gas could also cause nausea, which could cause the death row inmate to choke on his vomit.
In addition, the client cannot pray or say his last words with the mask.
The latter should now apparently be possible for Smith: One change stipulates that the spiritual advisor is called in before the mask is put on the man.
Smith's attorneys' petition also raises important questions about constitutionality.
There had already been an attempt to execute Smith with lethal injection on November 17, 2022, but it failed.
At that time, there were problems inserting the IV into Smith's vein.
In total, the man remained strapped to a stretcher for several hours, not knowing whether the execution would take place or not.
According to prison doctors, Smith then began exhibiting symptoms of severe trauma, including anxiety and depression.
According to Smith's lawyers, the Supreme Court should examine whether a second attempt at execution is permissible, since the first one already failed.
It is completely unclear whether the Supreme Court will take up the matter.
Smith was sentenced to death in 1988 for the contract killing of Elizabeth Sennett.
UN Human Rights Office intervenes: Method otherwise only used on animals
The UN Human Rights Office has now also become involved in the case.
As the spokeswoman for the UN Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani said in a statement on Tuesday, no such case has been reported so far.
The execution method would rather be used on animals, it was said.
According to the US Veterinary Association AVMA, large animals are recommended to be given a sedative before euthanizing them with nitrogen.
Nitrogen gas asphyxiation could amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under international law, the statement added.
My news
Speed camera Robin Hood?
“Fleximan” leaves Italy’s authorities perplexed
“Himalayan geological battlefield”: Tectonic plate beneath Tibet could break in two read
According to Eurojackpot statistics, these are the most common winning numbers
Health Minister Lauterbach warns: Researchers activate 50,000-year-old “zombie virus” from permafrost harvest
Austria is in debt to a lawyer - who quickly seizes the Chancellery and Schönbrunnlesen Palace
Austria is permanently closing one side of the Brenner motorway bridge - holidaymakers are threatened with permanent traffic jams
There is also no scientific evidence that inhalation of pure nitrogen does not cause serious suffering.
“The UN Human Rights Office calls on the authorities in the state of Alabama to stop the execution of Smith scheduled for January 25-26,” it said.
Human rights activists emphasized that the death penalty generally contradicts the fundamental right to life.
“There is no evidence that it deters crime and it poses an unacceptable risk of execution of innocent people,” the UN human rights office continued.
Each execution in the United States costs an average of $20 million (about 18 million euros), according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
In comparison, a life sentence is much cheaper for the state.
Last year, 24 people were executed in the USA.
The number is declining, there is a lack of specialist staff to carry out the injection, but also the poison for the syringe.
Many European and US pharmaceutical companies refuse to manufacture and supply the drugs needed for the poison injections.
According to Amnesty International, the number of executions worldwide is at its highest level in five years.