Nearly 14 months after surviving a state attempt to execute him by lethal injection, Holman Correctional Facility inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama faces another execution, this time by nitrogen hypoxia. The prison authorities are scheduled to carry out the execution on Thursday (Jan 25).
In anticipation of the impending event, Smith expresses profound fear, revealing nightmares about his own death. “I am not ready for that. Not in no kind of way. I’m just not ready, brother,” Smith conveyed to The Guardian. He recounts the overwhelming terror he experienced during the first execution attempt, stating that the mere act of entering the room in his dreams became a paralyzing experience.
Approaching the second execution, Smith shares that he feels “sick in his stomach” and frequently finds himself vomiting. He describes ongoing distress, emphasizing that he hasn’t been given a chance to heal from the first execution attempt, resulting in what he terms as an “ongoing stress disorder.”
The scheduled execution involves taking Smith to an execution chamber on Thursday, where he will be secured to a gurney. According to court documents, the state plans to place a mask on him to administer nitrogen. This “Type-C full facepiece respirator-type face mask” is designed to cut off Smith’s oxygen supply, replacing it with nitrogen, ultimately leading to his death due to oxygen deprivation. Notably, the gas will be delivered for a minimum of 15 minutes or “five minutes following a flatline indication on the Electrocardiogram (EKG).”
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