Alabama carried out the execution of a convicted murderer, Kenneth Eugene Smith, on Thursday, utilizing a groundbreaking method involving nitrogen gas.

This approach once again thrust the United States into the forefront of the ongoing discourse surrounding capital punishment.

While state authorities asserted the method’s humane nature, critics denounced it as both cruel and experimental.

Kenneth Eugene Smith, aged 58, was declared deceased at 8:25 p.m. within an Alabama prison.

The execution involved administering pure nitrogen gas through a face mask, inducing oxygen deprivation.

This event marked the first instance of a new execution method being employed in the United States since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982, which has become the prevailing method, the Associated Press reported.

The execution process extended for approximately 22 minutes, during which Smith seemed to remain conscious for several minutes.

For at least two minutes, he exhibited signs of agitation, at times resisting the restraints.

Subsequently, there were several minutes of pronounced breathing, culminating in the cessation of observable respiratory activity.

In 2022, the state had made an unsuccessful attempt to carry out the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith.

The planned lethal injection was abruptly halted at the eleventh hour due to the authorities’ inability to establish a connection with an IV line.

The recent execution unfolded amid a last-minute legal dispute, during which Smith’s legal representatives argued that the state was subjecting him to an experimental execution method, potentially infringing on the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Despite Smith’s efforts to block the execution through legal channels, federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, ultimately rejected his appeal, with the final ruling issued on Thursday night.

Written by B.C. Begley