Mr. Kenneth Smith was executed by the state of Alabama and died at 8:25 p.m. CST on January 25, 2024. This was Alabama’s second attempt to execute Mr. Smith. His last words were “‘Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backwards. . . . I'm leaving with love, peace and light. Thank you for supporting me, love all of you.’”
Mr. Smith’s execution was carried out via nitrogen hypoxia, an untested method of administering a nitrogen gas mask to Mr. Smith. “Nitrogen gas is so novel an execution method that the risk to workers in the death chamber is unclear.” Mr. Smith was administered nitrogen for approximately 15 minutes. “He shook and writhed for about two minutes on the gurney, followed by about five minutes of heavy breathing.” For more information on Mr. Smith’s execution, access NPR’s “Alabama executes man by nitrogen gas for the first time in the U.S.”
Information on Alabama’s first attempt to execute Mr. Smith can be found in the Death Penalty Information Center’s “Kenneth Smith Describes Alabama’s Failed Attempt to Execute Him.”