Kenneth Eugene Smith's nitrogen hypoxia execution will be painless, insists Alabama AG, as killer begs Supreme Court for mercy

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall insisted today that the controversial nitrogen hypoxia execution scheduled for Kenneth Eugene Smith tonight will be painless and will not cause him to vomit as he fears. 

Smith is due to be executed at 6pm tonight at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. He has begged for it to be called off, citing his fears that the experimental gassing method will cause excruciating pain or cause him to vomit. 

The Supreme Court yesterday denied an application for a stay. He filed another request today as the execution approached.

Kenneth Eugene Smith was sentenced to death in 1996 after admitting the murder-for-hire killing of a pastor's wife who was beaten and stabbed in 1988

Elizabeth Sennett, 45, was found dead on March 18, 1988, in the couple's home in Alabama's Colbert County. She had been stabbed eight times in the chest and once on each side of neck

In response, Marshall said his fears are unfounded. 

Quoting experts including euthanasia expert Dr. Philip Nitschke, Marshall said nitrogen hypoxia is a 'peaceful' way to end a human life. 

Nitschke had testified for Smith's legal team, who claimed the risks lay in the gas being administered through a mask. 

 In rebuttal, Marshall said the state's mask has been inspected and is tight enough to ensure no oxygen leaks in and prolongs the proceedings. 

He quoted Nitschke's support of nitrogen hypoxia in assisted suicide as further evidence of how painless the execution will be. 

'Among many problems for Smith was his star witness, Dr. Philip Nitschke, who might as well have testified for the State. 

'Before joining Smith’s cause, Dr. Nitschke said that critics of Alabama’s method were “misrepresenting the science,"' Marshall wrote. 

Dr. Nitschke - who has been referred to colloquially as 'Dr. Death' - said in the past that the method was 'fast', 'effective', 'peaceful' and 'reliable.' 

Kenneth Smith is set to be executed with nitrogen gas this week, which the UN has branded 'torture' and scientists have largely banned from animal experiments

Alabama's lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., is pictured in this Oct. 7, 2002 file photo. Kenneth Smith, 58, is scheduled to be executed Jan. 25, 2024

Elizabeth's preacher husband Charles Sennett Sr., who was in debt and terrified that she'd discover it 

He also dismissed Smith's fears about vomiting into the mask. 

'Grasping at straws, Smith quibbled with the way nitrogen will be delivered. First, he said the mask is too loose and will let air inside it. But the State dispelled that concern when it produced the mask. 

'Second, Smith said that in the precise few seconds between when gas enters the mask and he loses consciousness, he will vomit and choke to death. But the district court found (twice over) that Smith’s fear was “speculative”, “theoretical,” and “unlikely."

'Smith alleged that he might vomit during the execution because he suffers from nausea. 

'On cross-examination, however, Smith’s expert Katherine Porterfield admitted that Smith had not reported any vomiting. ' 

He added that if Smith vomits into his mask before the gas is administered, the  medical team in place will remove it and clean it. 

If he vomits into his mask once the gas has been released, they will not intervene. 

Smith said that is a 'highly theoretical' scenario based on a 'cascade of unlikely events'. 

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall says the execution is more gentle than Smith deserves