Death row killer Kenneth Smith first to be executed by controversial nitrogen gas method
dailyrecord.co.ukA death row killer has been executed using a controversial nitrogen gas method after surviving his first lethal injection attempt.Kenneth Smith, 58, has become the first-ever inmate in the USA to be put to death by toxic gas.
His official time of death was recorded at 8.25pm on Thursday following the execution at Alabama's Holman Correctional Facility.Speaking ahead of his death, Smith said: "I am not ready for that.
Not in no kind of way. I'm just not ready, brother." As reported by the Mirror, the state of Alabama had predicted in federal court filings that the nitrogen gas would "cause unconsciousness within seconds and cause death within minutes" as the body is starved of oxygen.
Executioners placed a medical face mask over his head as Smith was strapped to a bed - with instructions allowing nitrogen to be administered for up to 15 minutes until the heart monitor flat-lined.Smith was sentenced to death in 1989 for acting as a hitman to murder a preacher's wife.
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