Alabama Inmate Kenneth Smith: A Potential "Test Subject" for New Execution Method

Lawyers for Alabama inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith have argued that he would be a "test subject" for an experimental execution method of nitrogen hypoxia, as they requested the state's request to carry out his death sentence using the new method be denied. The proposed method involves forcing the inmate to breathe only nitrogen, depriving them of oxygen and causing death. While nitrogen gas is authorized as an execution method in three states, it has never been used to execute an inmate. Smith's attorneys accused the state of trying to move him ahead of other inmates to moot his lawsuit challenging lethal injection procedures.