U.N. Wants to Halt Planned Nitrogen Gas Execution in Alabama

The United Nations on Wednesday joined a growing chorus calling for U.S. authorities to halt the planned execution of a man on Alabama’s death row by nitrogen hypoxia, with a panel of experts assembled by the international organization calling it “an untested method” that could result in “grave suffering.”

The four experts—Morris Tidball-Binz, Alice Edwards, Tlaeng Mofokeng, and Margaret Satterthwaite—appealed in a joint statement to both federal and state authorities, begging them to stop Kenneth Eugene Smith’s Jan. 25 execution. “We are concerned that nitrogen hypoxia would result in a painful and humiliating death,” said the experts, who are all independent monitors working as part of the Human Rights Council’s special procedures program.

The practice of using nitrogen hypoxia to execute a prisoner—essentially having them inhale pure nitrogen, starving them of oxygen until they die—was authorized as an alternative method by the Alabama State Legislature in 2018. Last year, the Alabama Supreme Court upheld its use in a 6-2 decision over Smith’s case.

Read more at The Daily Beast.