.ON JANUARY 25TH Kenneth Eugene Smith became the first individual anywhere to become put to death by nitrogen hypoxia. He was founded guilty in 1989 of killing Elizabeth Sennett, the partner of a preacher from Alabama, on her partner's orders. The state possessed very first attempted to execute him, through fatal injection, in November 2022, but bungled the treatment. After that, Mr Smith opted for to be executed by unique means. His execution has created shock: Alabama claims nitrogen hypoxia is actually a simple, painless fatality but a lot of medical pros disagree. Some have actually compared it to torment. Why carried out Alabama authorize this untried approach?