Kenneth Smith writhed and shook vigorously on the gurney for an estimated four minutes after the nitrogen gas started funneling into his mask
Alabama death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith violently convulsed on the prison gurney he’d been strapped to for several minutes before dying in the nation’s first-ever state-sanctioned execution utilizing nitrogen gas as a means.
Media were invited to witness Smith’s execution Thursday evening, including a reporter from the Montgomery Advertiser , which detailed the killer’s slow demise.
From start to finish, it took more than 20 minutes for Smith, 58, to die . This was the state’s second attempt to execute Smith, who’d been imprisoned since 1988 for his role in the murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Sennett: On Nov. 17, 2022, prison staff were unable to find a strong enough vein to administer the lethal injection.
Smith writhed and shook vigorously on the gurney for about four minutes after the nitrogen gas started funneling into his full-face mask, witnesses reported.