"Controversy Surrounds Alabama's Use of Nitrogen Hypoxia for Executions"

Alabama's planned execution of death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith using nitrogen hypoxia has sparked ethical controversy, with concerns raised about the untried method's potential for causing extreme suffering. The use of nitrogen hypoxia, a form of execution involving oxygen deprivation, has drawn criticism from experts and U.N. officials, who fear it could lead to a painful and humiliating death. Smith's previous failed execution attempt by lethal injection in 2022 has also raised legal challenges, with his attorneys arguing against subjecting him to potential suffering or a vegetative state.