"Alabama Executes Kenneth Smith Using Nitrogen Gas in Landmark Death Penalty Case"

Alabama executed Kenneth Eugene Smith using nitrogen hypoxia, marking the first use of this controversial death penalty method in the United States. Smith, who had previously survived a botched lethal injection, was put to death for the 1989 murder of Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett. The execution faced legal challenges and criticism from human rights experts, but the Supreme Court allowed it to proceed. Smith's last words expressed disappointment in the state's actions, while his legal team criticized the use of a since-repealed statute to override the jury's recommendation for a life sentence.