"Supreme Court Allows Alabama's First Nitrogen Execution to Proceed"

The U.S. Supreme Court and a federal appeals court have both declined to intervene in Alabama's plans to execute Kenneth Smith using nitrogen gas, making it the nation's first nitrogen gas execution. Smith's lawyers argued that the method would violate his Eighth Amendment rights, but the courts did not provide an explanation for their decisions. Alabama's previous attempt to execute Smith by lethal injection was botched, and his lawyers fear that the new nitrogen gas protocol may cause him severe suffering. The execution is scheduled to take place on Thursday evening at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility.