After SCOTUS Rejected His Final Appeal, Alabama Executes Man With Nitrogen Gas
Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backwards," Kenneth Smith said in his final statement.
The state’s notoriously incompetent executioners, who tried and failed to kill Smith via lethal injection in 2022, strapped the condemned man to a gurney and administered the nitrogen gas through a full-face mask. Smith was pronounced dead shortly before 8:30 pm after around four minutes of convulsions.
Wow. Sounds very humane. /s
“Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backwards,” Smith said in his final statement. “I’m leaving with love, peace, and light. Thank you for supporting me, love all of you.”
RIP, dude. Sorry we as a society couldn't help you. May the people who glibly signed your death warrant get what they deserve.
From one of the linked articles by a reporter in the room:
The gas appeared to start flowing at approximately 7:58 p.m. Smith visibly shook and writhed against the gurney for around two minutes. His arms thrashed against the restraints.
He breathed heavily, slightly gasping, for approximately seven more minutes. At one point, his wife cried out.
At 8:01 p.m., a correctional officer in the execution chamber leaned over Smith and examined his face, before stepping away and walking back to his post. Smith appeared to stop breathing at 8:08 p.m.
I've experienced hypoxia and found it very comfortable, if I had to choose a way to go there would be it, but that was at a high altitude and my brain had no idea what was happening (later edit: done properly with no carbon dioxide buildup, the brain should be unaware with nitrogen too - I suspect their untested mask was shit). This sounds barbaric.
I was a researcher for around twenty years and almost passed out leaning over an LN2 tank like an idiot looking for my samples once. No pain, just felt some tingling and rapidly fading consciousness. There was still a good amount of oxygen in the room since the alarms never went off. Just glad I started to fall backwards instead of into the tank.
I've also experienced nitrogen narcosis while deep diving, and that actually felt good.
IMO trying to make execution humane is kinda pointless. It is really just done to ease the guilt of those who participate and watch in it. If you participate in killing someone, you should feel guilty. That applies equally no matter if your carrying out a state-sanctioned murder or a street murder.
If you participate in killing someone, you
should feelare literally guilty.
I mean, that's what the word means.
Is life in prison really better than a proper killing?
Uh ... Yes. Everyone has an innate survival instinct. Sure in what seems like a shitty situation, life might feel hopeless temporarily, but I'd bet you'll eventually adapt and get over the initial shock. I'm not sure what you mean by proper, but to me it seems like proper is just shorthand for what is profitable, useful, or easy to people with power.
Well it is better in the cases of actually innocent people getting convicted as it can later be overturned but there are some monsters that really shouldn't be allowed to stain the earth with their existence that we have zero doubt as to their guilt.
To preface, I disagree with the death penalty in most cases.
It may seem a strange idea, but as long as the death penalty is a thing, I wonder if there is an opportunity to instead of killing the person, provide the option (after serving a sufficient term for 'punishment' and/or 'rehabilitation') of instead killing the person's citizenship; as an alternative, if they have dual citizenship, allow the other country the option to take their citizen back in, drop their US citizenship, and permanently make them ineligible from regaining citizenship; and in cases of only US citizenship (because you aren't allowed to make someone 'stateless'), allow another nation to sponsor the individual by granting them citizenship (should the person accept) and taking them in.
The other country in such a case would be responsible for whatever further 'punishment'/'rehabilitation' they feel is appropriate before re-integrating them into society. There's only a couple thousand death row inmates in the US currently.
I'm not saying other nations will be jumping to take in murderers, but with the high number of false convictions in the US, and risk of executing innocent people, some nations with a high moral standard, may be willing to take some people in if given the opportunity.
Just a random thought that occurred; if it is extremely crazy sounding, I don't know. But the US is basically a prison nation with plenty of innocent people being convicted of crimes all the time, it may be nice for there to be another option.
Edit: Treason, and crimes against the nation, is one of those things that probably shouldn't be allowed such an exception, because you are just sending someone who 'committed treason' to a place they can continue to act against your nation, that's just not a smart thing to do.