Alabama Execution Took 22 Minutes

Before Alabama inmate Kenneth Smith was put to death in the world's first nitrogen gas execution, officials predicted that the gas would cause him to lose consciousness in seconds. That wasn't what happened in the death chamber Thursday night. The AP reports that "Smith appeared to remain conscious for several minutes. For at least two minutes, he appeared to shake and writhe on the gurney, sometimes pulling against the restraints." AL.com reports that Smith "breathed heavily, slightly gasping, for approximately seven more minutes."

• 22 minutes. The AP reports that the execution "took about 22 minutes from the time between the opening and closing of the curtains to the viewing room." The official time of death was 8:25pm, 10 minutes after the curtains closed, the Washington Post reports.

• "That was all expected." Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm, asked about Smith's movements on the gurney, said nothing unexpected had happened. "It appeared that, one, Smith was holding his breath for as long as he could," Hamm said, per CBS News. "And then there's also information out there that he struggled against his restraints a little bit, but there's some involuntary movement and some angled breathing."
• Spiritual adviser speaks out. Steve Marshall, Alabama's attorney general, said nitrogen gas "was intended to be—and has now proved to be—an effective and humane method of execution." The Rev. Jeff Hood, Smith's spiritual adviser disagreed. "What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for his life," said Hood, who was present in the death chamber. AL.com reports that Hood said he has witnessed executions by lethal injection over the last year—and the method "is preferable every single day" over nitrogen gas.

• Muffled last words. The Montgomery Advertiser reports that the mask used to administer the gas was over Smith's face when he spoke his last words, making some of his remarks inaudible. "Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backward," said Smith, who survived a previous attempt to execute him in 2022. He thanked his supporters, saying, "I love all of you."
• A 'bittersweet day' for victim's family. Smith was one of two men hired to kill Elizabeth Sennett in 1988. He was recruited by a man hired by Sennett's husband, who killed himself after admitting his role the crime. Mike Sennett, one of the victim's two sons, said Smith "made some bad decisions 35 years ago, and his debt was paid tonight," WVTM13 reports. "It's kind of a bittersweet day," he said. "We're not going to be jumping around, hooting and hollering and all that. That's not us."
• Supreme Court declined to block execution. The execution was allowed to proceed after the Supreme Court declined to block it in a 6-3 decision, the Hill reports. All three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor saying the execution protocol had been shrouded in secrecy, reports the AP. "That information is important not only to Smith, who has an extra reason to fear the gurney, but to anyone the State seeks to execute after him using this novel method," she wrote.

(More death penalty stories.)