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The death sentence the United States plans to impose this Thursday on prisoner Kenneth Eugene Smith will test an unprecedented method. nitrogen gaswhich is in the spotlight as
The death sentence the United States plans to impose this Thursday on prisoner Kenneth Eugene Smith will test an unprecedented method. nitrogen gaswhich is in the spotlight as its detractors report it can cause excessive pain in the process and even involve torture.
Alabama, along with Oklahoma and Mississippi, one of only three states in the country to allow their use in death sentences due to the increasing difficulty of obtaining lethal injection drugs due to the refusal of pharmaceutical companies to allow their use for this purpose.
Smith, 58, convicted in 1989 of the contract killing of a woman, was supposed to be “guinea pig”according to what he himself denounces in a futile legal battle trying to avoid it.
Millimeter protocol, but without predecessors
Nitrogen hypoxia is a procedure in which nitrogen, either pure or in a concentration high enough to be lethal, is inhaled to the point of suffocation. The prisoner receives it through a sealed mask..
Its protocol, drawn up by the Alabama Department of Corrections last August, requires technicians to check whether the volume of gas in the cylinder exceeds a minimum acceptance threshold.
This document states that when nitrogen is used in executions, the presence of a spiritual mentor at the call is not allowed. “lethal chamber” if the latter has not signed an agreement to possible risks.
The final stage leading up to this moment, which Smith scheduled for this Thursday at 6:00 pm local time, began seven days earlier. For at least two days, members of the executive team must review the process, which includes rehearsing the transfer of an inmate from cell to death row.
Alabama has hidden some details in this public protocol, but there are choreographic details that require designated officials to remove the mask, connect it to a breathing tube and place the material in a specific location inside the room.
There will be oxygen meters on the wall, which will be checked several times to make sure they are charged and the audible alarm is working.
Smith, according to this roadmap, will be equipped with a pulse oximeter that will show the level of oxygen saturation in the blood. You will have the opportunity to give a closing speech of no more than two minutes, and the nitrogen administration itself will last no more than 15 minutes.
Before employees enter room to announce your deaththe room will be ventilated.
Smith, CNN reported Wednesday, will not be allowed to eat from 10 a.m. to minimize the risk of vomiting and choking on inhaling or swallowing his own secretions through the mask.
Unanimous reviews
Amnesty International reminds that in November 2022 they tried to execute him by lethal injection but there were problems with the introduction of intravenous drips.
According to the NGO, a federal court called the episode “horrific” and three Supreme Court justices called it torture that left him with “immense pain and suffering” that caused post-traumatic stress disorder.
Although the state of Alabama claims oxygen hypoxia is “the most painless and humane method of execution known to man” and claims it causes rapid loss of consciousness, there have been warnings about it even from the United Nations.
High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani expressed deep concern and called on the state of Alabama to not only stop the execution of Smith, but also to refrain from carrying out similar executions in the future.
EFE
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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