Kenneth Smith: Alabama murderer becomes first inmate in the world executed with ‘painless’ nitrogen gas
A prisoner in Alabama has become the first inmate in the world to be executed with nitrogen gas.
Convicted murderer Kenneth Smith, 58, was put to death after the US Supreme Court declined a legal bid to halt his sentence.
His official time of death was 8.25pm on Thursday (2.25am UK time).
According to witnesses, the execution took about 22 minutes and Smith appeared to remain conscious for several minutes.
For at least two minutes, he appeared to shake and writhe, sometimes pulling against the restraints. That was followed by several minutes of heavy breathing, until breathing was no longer perceptible.
State authorities had predicted unconsciousness within seconds and death within minutes.
In a final statement, Smith said: “Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards… I’m leaving with love, peace and light.”
He made the ‘I love you sign’ toward his wife and other family members who were witnesses. “Thank you for supporting me. Love, love all of you,” Smith said.
Humane death or lethal experiment? How nitrogen execution works
The use of nitrogen gas is highly controversial and critics say it’s cruel and experimental. It had never been used before anywhere.
It involves clamping a mask tightly to the face, covering the mouth and nose.
The mask is then fed with nitrogen gas. The person continues to breathe normally, but with no oxygen present the body gradually shuts down until death occurs – effectively they are suffocated.
Elizabeth Sennett was stabbed and beaten to death. Pic: Family handout
Smith was convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire killing of Elizabeth Sennett.
Prosecutors said he was one of two men who were each paid $1,000 to kill Ms Sennett on behalf of her pastor husband, who was deeply in debt and wanted to collect on insurance.
She was found with eight stab wounds to the chest and one in each side of her neck.
The other killer, John Forrest Parker, was executed in 2010.
In a statement, Alabama state governor Kay Ivey said: “On March 18, 1988, 45-year-old Elizabeth Sennett’s life was brutally taken from her by Kenneth Eugene Smith.
“After more than 30 years and attempt after attempt to game the system, Mr Smith has answered for his horrendous crimes.
Campaigners turned up outside the Alabama prison. Pic: Reuters
Law enforcement monitored the gate as Smith’s execution took place. Pic: AP
“The execution was lawfully carried out by nitrogen hypoxia, the method previously requested by Mr Smith as an alternative to lethal injection.
“At long last, Mr Smith got what he asked for, and this case can finally be put to rest.
“I pray that Elizabeth Sennett’s family can receive closure after all these years dealing with that great loss.”
‘Mom got justice’
“Alabama has achieved something historic,” said state attorney general Steve Marshall.
“Like most states, Alabama has made the judgement that some crimes are so horrific that they warrant the ultimate penalty.
“But anti-death-penalty activists have worked to nullify that moral judgement through pressure campaigns against anyone assisting states in the process.
“They don’t care that Alabama’s new method is humane and effective, because they know it is also easy to carry out.”
Mike Sennett, the son of Smith’s victim, called it a ‘bittersweet day’. Pic: AP
Reverend Jeff Hood, who witnessed the execution, said the reality did not match Alabama’s predictions of a quick death.
“We didn’t see somebody go unconscious in 30 seconds. What we saw was minutes of someone struggling for their life,” he said.
Reverend Hood said Smith had a final meal of T-bone steak, hash browns, toast and eggs in steak sauce.
Mike Sennett, the son of Smith’s victim, spoke to media after the execution.
“Nothing happened here today is going to bring Mom back. It’s kind of a bittersweet day,” he said.
“We are not going to be jumping around. whooping and holler, hooray and all that… I’ll end by saying Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett got her justice tonight.”
Pic: Alabama law enforcement mugshot from 1980s
Smith’s execution comes after he survived a botched lethal injection in 2022 when officials tried unsuccessfully for hours to put an intravenous line into his body.
The incident helped prompt a review of the state’s death penalty procedures.
The Supreme Court justices declined to uphold Smith’s legal challenge that claimed a second execution attempt – after the first failure caused him severe trauma – would violate the US Constitution’s 8th Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
However the decision was not unanimous, with three justices voting to halt the execution.
“Having failed to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama has selected him as its ‘guinea pig’ to test a method of execution never attempted before,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, saying she would have granted the injunction.
“The world is watching.”
Just minutes before the execution was carried out, the Supreme Court refused for a second time to intervene.
A man has been taken into custody two days after a US politician and her husband were shot dead in Minnesota, law enforcement officials have said.
Authorities had urged the public not to approach Vance Boelter, 57, who they warned could be armed, and who was reportedly posing as a police officer.
A massive manhunt was launched on Saturday after Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman were shot dead at their home in Minneapolis in what Minnesota governor Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination”.
Police said the same gunman that killed the Hortmans had earlier shot and wounded Democrat senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home nine miles away.
Representative Melissa Hortman and Senator John Hoffman. Pic: Facebook/Minnesota Legislature
Boelter was arrested on Sunday evening in a rural area in Sibley County, southwest of Minneapolis.
He faces two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of attempted second-degree murder in the deaths of the Hortmans and the wounding of Hoffman and his wife.
The FBI released this image of Vance Boelter posing as a police officer. Pic: FBI.
Police said they responded to gunfire reports at the Hoffmans’ Champlin home shortly after 2am on Saturday and found them with multiple gunshot wounds.
They then checked on the Hortmans’ home, in the nearby Brooklyn Park suburb, and saw what appeared to be a police car and a man dressed as an officer leaving the front door.
“The individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped on foot, said Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley.
Authorities believe Boelter wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, and also used a vehicle resembling a squad car.
Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were allegedly found inside the vehicle.
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Governor calls it ‘targeted political violence’
‘We are both incredibly lucky to be alive’
Senator Hoffman was shot nine times and is having multiple surgeries, according to a text message shared on Instagram by fellow senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday.
The text from Yvette Hoffman added: “I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive.”
She said her husband “is closer every hour to being out of the woods”.
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Neighbours of murdered US politician stunned
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Neighbours of killed US politician stunned
Records show Boelter – a father of five – is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Mr Hoffman.
However, it’s unclear to what extent they knew each other, if at all.
Mr Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and runs a consulting firm called Hoffman Strategic Advisors.
Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old mother of two, was first elected in 2004 and was the top house Democratic leader in the state legislature.
She also served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The motive behind Melissa Hortman’s killing remains unclear. Pic: Instagram.
Mrs Hortman used her position to champion protections around abortion rights, including laws to cement Minnesota’s status as a safe refuge for people from restrictive states, who travel there for an abortion.
Her work also sought to introduce protections for services that provide abortions.
US
Minnesota manhunt continues for gunman who ‘posed as cop’ to kill Melissa Hortman and her husband
A manhunt is continuing after the gunning down of a Democrat politician and her husband – with police saying they’re acting on the assumption he is still alive and dangerous.
Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman were shot dead at home in a Minneapolis suburb on Saturday in what governor Tim Walz called a “politically motivated assassination”.
Democrat senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot multiple times at their home nine miles away, but survived.
A search is under way for Vance Boelter, 57, who authorities believe wore a mask as he posed as a police officer, and also used a vehicle resembling a squad car.
Several AK-style firearms and a list of about 70 names, which included politicians and abortion rights activists, were found inside.
Melissa Hortman and Senator John Hoffman. Pic: Facebook / Minnesota Legislature
Boelter was last caught on camera wearing a cowboy hat – a similar hat was found near another vehicle belonging to him on Sunday.
Authorities said at their latest news conference they assume he is still alive.
Hundreds of police officers are searching for Boelter, who escaped from the Hortmans’ house on foot after an exchange of gunfire.
Senator Hoffman was shot nine times and is having multiple surgeries, according to a text message shared on Instagram by fellow senator Amy Klobuchar on Sunday.
The text from Mr Hoffman’s wife, Yvette, added: “I took 8 and we are both incredibly lucky to be alive.”
She said her husband “is closer every hour to being out of the woods”.
“We believe [Boelter’s] somewhere in the vicinity and that they are going to find him,” Senator Klobuchar told NBC’s Meet the Press.
“Everyone’s on edge here,” she added, “because we know that this man will kill at a second.”
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Neighbours of killed US politician stunned
Police said they responded to gunfire reports at the Hoffmans’ Champlin home shortly after 2am on Saturday and found them with multiple gunshot wounds.
They then checked on the Hortmans’ home, in the nearby Brooklyn Park suburb, and saw what appeared to be a police car and a man dressed as an officer leaving the front door.
“The individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home” and escaped on foot, said Brooklyn Park police chief Mark Bruley.
Read more:
Neighbours of murdered US politician stunned
Another vehicle belonging to Boelter was searched on Sunday in Minnesota’s Faxon Township. A cowboy hat similar to the one seen in the police appeal was found nearby.
It’s been revealed that the suspect texted friends around 6am on Saturday to say he had “made some choices” and was “going to be gone for a while”.
According to AP, which has seen the messages, he reportedly said: “May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way… I’m sorry for all the trouble this has caused.”
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Governor calls it ‘targeted political violence’
Records show Boelter – a father of five – is a former political appointee who served on the same state workforce development board as Mr Hoffman.
However, it’s unclear to what extent they knew each other, if at all.
Mr Hoffman, 60, was first elected in 2012 and runs a consulting firm called Hoffman Strategic Advisors.
The motive behind Melissa Hortman’s killing remains unclear. Pic: Instagram
Melissa Hortman, a 55-year-old mother of two, was first elected in 2004 and was the top house Democratic leader in the state legislature.
She also served as speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Mrs Hortman used her position to champion protections around abortion rights, including laws to cement Minnesota’s status as a safe refuge for people from restrictive states, who travel there for an abortion.
Her work also sought to introduce protections for services that provide abortions.
“Holy, holy, holy” they sang at the Church of St Timothy in Blaine, Minnesota.
But the congregation is struggling to comprehend an act of evil – the brutal murder of one of their own.
The church congregation remembered Melissa and Mark Hortman
Melissa Hortman grew up here. The former state speaker and her husband Mark were shot dead in their home on Saturday morning.
Her friend and party colleague, Erin Koegal, was among those attending mass.
Erin Koegal says her friend’s death feels like a ‘bad dream’
“It still feels like a bad dream. I woke up this morning and was like, okay, so that was real,” she said.
“It’s hit me in waves, the grief, and the anger, and the sadness. She was a leader, a true definition of a leader.
“I’ve never known our party without Melissa as the leader and so I can’t, I don’t even know how we’re going to go forward as a caucus without her.”
The bullet holes on Melissa Hortman’s front door.
State senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette had already been shot and wounded.
Police sent to check on his colleague, Melissa Hortman, didn’t get there in time.
Police are extensively searching for 57-year-old Vance Boelter
They named the suspect as Vance Boelter, a 57-year-old former Christian missionary.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz called it a “politically motivated murder”.
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Neighbours of murdered US politician stunned
Manhunt after Minnesota politician and husband shot dead
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Neighbours of killed US politician stunned
Friends of Ms Hortman have told Sky News that her two children feared for their mother’s life after reading divisive rhetoric directed at her online.
Matt Norris, another political colleague of Ms Hortman, was also at church, reflecting on the rise of political violence in America.
Matt Norris
“We’ve going to have to do some serious introspection as a state, as a country, and figure out how do we get beyond this,” he said.
“How have we been laying the seeds that have led to horrific acts of violence against public servants like this?
“And it’s going to be incumbent upon us as leaders to set a different tone, to set a different direction for our state and our country so that horrific tragedies like this never occur again.”
Tributes left for Melissa Hortman and her husband outside the Minnesota State Capitol
But there’s no sign of division at the State Capitol Building, where flags fly at half-mast and flowers are being left in tribute.
This is a community united in grief and in its hope for an end to gun violence in America.
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