Alabama inmate waiting to hear court ruling on scheduled nitrogen gas execution

By KIM CHANDLER
Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama inmate scheduled to be the first person in the United States to be put to death with nitrogen gas is waiting to see if he will receive a last-minute reprieve from federal courts in his bid to halt the execution. Alabama intends to execute 58-year-old Kenneth Eugene Smith by the never-used method of nitrogen hypoxia Thursday. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Smith’s request for a stay Wednesday, rejecting his argument that it would be unconstitutional for the state to attempt a second execution after a failed lethal injection in 2022. Smith also has asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block the execution from going forward but the court had not ruled as of Wednesday afternoon.