As Alabama eyes more nitrogen executions, opponents urge companies to cut off plentiful gas supply

Alabama carried out the nation’s first execution using nitrogen gas

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Alabama in late January became the first state to use nitrogen gas in an execution, finding a new way to carry out a death sentence after drug companies refused to let their products be used in lethal injections.

Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was put to death Jan. 25 for the 1988 murder-for-hire killing of 45-year-old Elizabeth Sennett. State prison officials put a mask over his face, replacing the air he breathed with nitrogen gas and depriving him of oxygen.

Alabama has said it plans to continue using this new method. Other states are considering following its lead given that nitrogen gas, the chief material in a nitrogen execution, is readily available to purchase. But at least one company has said it won’t supply nitrogen for execution, and anti-death penalty groups hope others will do the same.

Despite the availability of nitrogen gas, legal challenges may end up being a big hurdle for prison officials trying to procure it, at least for the time being.

The refusal of drug companies to allow their products to be used in lethal injections, and ongoing litigation over that execution method, have made it hard for some states to carry out death sentences. That led them to explore alternate means of carrying out executions.