United Nations experts are calling for an end to the execution of an Alabama inmate by nitrogen gas over fears it could cause “extreme suffering.”
Kenneth Smith, who was convicted of murder in 1996, was scheduled to be executed on January 25 through a face mask that would administer toxic chemicals into his airways until he was deprived of oxygen.
Four UN experts – Morris Tidball-Binz, Alice Edwards, Tlaeng Mofokeng, and Margaret Satterthwaite – have raised the alarm about the “untested method,” saying it could cause prisoners “extreme suffering.”
“We are concerned that nitrogen hypoxia will result in a painful and humiliating death,” experts said in a joint statement.
Although death by nitrogen gas was approved in the Southern state in 2018, it is the first time in the world that it will be used to kill a death row inmate.
Only two other states in the US – Oklahoma and Mississippi – have authorized the method for implementation, but have never used it.
Alabama upheld that decision in a 6-2 vote last year. The state is seeking to execute Smith, 58, in November 2022 by lethal injection. But officers failed in their duties by failing to insert an intravenous line into his vein.
Kenneth Smith, who was convicted of murder in 1996, will be executed on January 25 via a face mask that will administer the toxic chemical into his airways until he is deprived of oxygen. AP
Smith is one of only two inmates to survive lethal injection in the United States.
His survival prompted a temporary halt to injections in the state after Republican Governor Kay Ivey announced authorities would review the procedure after two inmates in two months survived their execution attempts.
The state Attorney General’s Office then requested to use the nitrogen method in August and it was approved.
UN experts fear that the method would amount to “torture” and “violate the prohibition” of prisoners by causing cruel and inhumane punishment.
The experts warned Alabama that “punishments that cause severe pain and suffering outweigh the dangers inherent in lawful sanctions. [will] likely to violate the Convention Against Torture,” which is part of the US.
Four UN experts – Morris Tidball-Binz, Alice Edwards (pictured), Tlaeng Mofokeng, and Margaret Satterthwaite – have now raised the alarm about the “untested method,” saying it could cause the prisoners “extreme suffering.” Future Publishing via Getty Images “We are concerned that nitrogen hypoxia will result in painful and shameful deaths,” Morris Tidball-Binz and others said in a joint statement. AFP via Getty Images Margaret Satterthwaite and others fear the method could lead to “torture” inmates and “violate the prohibition” against cruel and inhumane punishment. SOPA/LightRocket Image via Getty Images Tlaeng Mofokeng and three others are calling for a halt to the use of nitrogen gas everywhere until the protocol is revised, they said in a statement.
The four UN members called for a halt to the use of nitrogen gas everywhere until the protocol has been reviewed, they said in a statement.
In addition, spiritual advisors, who are allowed to be in the room with prisoners as they die, have raised concerns about the method.
“The implementation of nitrogen hypoxia doesn’t just harm the damned — it threatens everyone in the room, because people generally can’t detect they’re inhaling the gas until it’s too late,” Smith’s spiritual advisor Jeff Hood wrote for the Scheer Post in December.
“I will read the report on the consequences of the potential leak. Kenny wasn’t discouraged either and basically asked if I was willing to die to do this.”
Although Hood said he still plans to be with Smith if he dies in three weeks, he has raised a flag about the waiver Alabama asked him to sign, which states he could be exposed to gas and must stay three feet away from Smith at all times.
Smith’s lawyers have raised concerns about his constitutional rights, saying a second execution could be a violation. They also said he had not yet exhausted all his appeals.
With Postal wire.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
