.ON JANUARY 25TH Kenneth Eugene Smith became the first individual anywhere to become executed by nitrogen hypoxia. He was pronounced guilty in 1989 of killing Elizabeth Sennett, the wife of a preacher from Alabama, on her hubby's orders. The state had very first made an effort to execute him, by deadly treatment, in Nov 2022, yet botched the method. Afterwards, Mr Smith selected to become nailed to a cross by unfamiliar means. His execution has triggered indignation: Alabama claims nitrogen hypoxia is a simple, pain-free fatality yet lots of clinical professionals differ. Some have actually parallelled it to abuse. Why carried out Alabama authorize this untried approach?