On January 25, Kenneth Eugene Smith must die by means of a ” new method not yet tested on a human, nitrogen hypoxia “, or oxygen deprivation. Carried out at the instigation of the State of Alabama, it “could constitute torture under international law” according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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The method in question is used today in the chicken slaughtering industry. Here it will consist of applying a mask to the condemned person and infusing nitrogen in order to gradually deprive him of oxygen.
Alabama is the third American state to have authorized it, with Oklahoma and Mississippi, but the first to apply it. It was a federal judge, appointed by Donald Trump, who authorized it. In 2022, the intravenous injection on the condemned man failed due to failure to locate the vein.
What effects would an execution using the new method have? His lawyers put forward several arguments: the risk of stroke, the additional pain and even the impossibility of saying one’s last prayer with a mask on one’s face.
But the conservative judge dismissed them for lack of tangible proof. For good reason, this execution is a first in the United States and in the world.
Four independent United Nations observers called on American authorities to halt it, fearing a painful and humiliating death for the 58-year-old convict.
This Tuesday, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights insists and emphasizes that the new protocol does not provide for tranquilizers. However, the American Veterinary Association even recommends it for animals brought to the slaughterhouse…