Federal Judge Clears Path for First Execution by Nitrogen Hypoxia in Alabama
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — A federal judge in Alabama has rejected an inmate’s request to halt his execution scheduled for later this month, potentially making him the first person to be put to death using the untested method of nitrogen hypoxia. Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was convicted of a murder-for-hire plot in 1988, had argued that the state’s current protocol for nitrogen hypoxia violated his constitutional rights due to the risk of a painful death. However, Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. ruled that Smith had not proven that the protocol would cause cruel and unusual punishment, … Read more