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On July 4, 1913, Brad Smith, a young Black man from Newport, was chased down the beach by a mob. He fired a shot in self defense changing his life forever.
A divided Alabama Supreme Court said the state can execute an inmate with nitrogen gas, a method that has not previously been used carry out a death sentence. The justices granted the state attorney general's request for an execution warrant for Kenneth Eugene Smith, one of two men convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of Elizabeth Sennett in northwestern Alabama. The order did not specify the execution method, but the attorney general indicated in court filings that it intends to use nitrogen to put Smith to death.
Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, regarding the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that the state can execute an inmate with nitrogen gas, a method that has not previously been used to carry out a death sentence. Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi have authorized nitrogen hypoxia for executions but none have tried to use it. Opponents have likened the new procedure to human experimentation. (Associated Press — Nov. 2, 2023)
André Thomas’ lawyers are pursuing a last-ditch effort to save his life.
More federal executions carried out under much the same conditions may not be far off.