Alabama
Alabama calls nitrogen execution method 'painless' and 'humane,' but critics raise doubts
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama, unless stopped by the courts, intends to strap inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith to a gurney and use a gas mask to replace breathable air with nitrogen, depriving him of oxygen needed to stay alive, on Thursday in the nation’s first execution attempt with the method.
The Alabama attorney general’s office told federal appeals court judges last week that nitrogen hypoxia is “the most painless and humane method of execution known to man.” But what exactly Smith, 58, will feel after the warden switches on the gas is unknown, some doctors and critics say.
“What effect the condemned person will feel from the nitrogen gas itself, no one knows,” Dr. Jeffrey Keller, president of the American College of Correctional Physicians, wrote in an email. “This has never been done before. It is an experimental procedure.”
Keller, who was not involved in developing the Alabama protocol, said the plan is to “eliminate all of the oxygen from the air” that Smith is breathing by replacing it with nitrogen.
“Since the condemned person will not be breathing any oxygen, he will die,” Keller said. “It is little different than putting a plastic bag over one’s head.”
The state of Alabama has predicted in federal court filings that the nitrogen gas will “cause unconsciousness within seconds, and cause death within minutes.”
The state plans to place a “full facepiece supplied air respirator” over Smith’s face. The nitrogen would be administered for at least 15 minutes or “five minutes following a flatline indication on the EKG, whichever is longer,” according to the state protocol.
The execution would be the first attempt to use a new method since lethal injection was introduced in 1982. Three states — Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma — have authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method. Some states are exploring new methods as lethal injection drugs have been difficult to find.
The American Veterinary Medical Association wrote in 2020 euthanasia guidelines that nitrogen hypoxia is not an acceptable euthanasia method for most mammals because the anoxic environment “is distressing.” And experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council cautioned they believe the execution method could violate the prohibition on torture.
Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist who as one of four professionals who filed the U.N. complaint that led to the warning, said Smith is at risk for seizures and choking to death on his own vomit. He said any leak under the mask could prolong the execution.
“A leak will do two things. It will potentially endanger people around. … Air could then get under the mask as well,” Zivot said. “And so the execution could be prolonged or maybe he might never die, he just could get injured.”
Much of what is recorded about death from nitrogen comes from industrial accidents — where leaks or cannister mix-ups have killed people — and from suicide attempts. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found 80 people were killed by nitrogen asphyxiation between 1992 and 2002.
Smith was one of two men convicted of the 1988 murder-for-hire of a preacher’s wife. Prosecutors said the men were paid $1,000 to kill Elizabeth Sennett, 45, on behalf of her husband, who wanted to collect on insurance. The coroner testified Sennett was stabbed repeatedly. Her husband killed himself when he became a suspect. John Forrest Parker, the other man convicted, was executed in 2010.
The victim’s son, Charles Sennett Jr., said in an interview with WAAY-TV that Smith “has to pay for what he’s done.” He and other family members plan to witness the execution.
“And some of these people out there say, ‘Well, he doesn’t need to suffer like that.’ Well, he didn’t ask Mama how to suffer?” the son told the station. “They just did it. They stabbed her — multiple times.”
Smith’s initial conviction was overturned. He was convicted again in 1996. The jury recommended a life sentence by 11-1, but a judge sentenced Smith to death. Alabama no longer allows a judge to override a jury’s sentencing decision in death penalty cases.
Smith is one of few people to survive a prior execution attempt. The state attempted a lethal injection in 2022, but the prison system called it off before the drugs were administered because the staff had difficulty connecting the two required intravenous lines.
Smith’s attorneys are asking courts to block the nitrogen execution, arguing that its unconstitutional for the state to make a second attempt to execute him and that the state’s plan violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment and at least merits more scrutiny before it is used.
“It’s indefensible for Alabama officials to simply dismiss the very real risks this untested method presents and experiment on a man who has already survived one execution attempt,” Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said.
The Alabama attorney general’s office noted that Smith, when previously fighting lethal injection, had suggested nitrogen as an alternative execution method. Courts require inmates challenging their execution method to suggest an alternative method.
“Now that the State is prepared to give Smith what he asked for, he objects,” the attorney general’s office said in a Monday statement.
The inmate’s spiritual adviser said Smith is afraid of what is about to happen to him.
“Presently, Kenny is sickened, deeply pained and horrified at the nitrogen hypoxia experiment that is to come,” the Rev. Jeff Hood, a death penalty opponent, said. “Despite the darkness that has descended, he tries very hard to fill every second he might have left with as much love as he can muster.”
Several protests are planned in the state. A group of faith leaders delivered a petition to the state’s governor on Monday asking her to halt the execution. “Prisoners are not guinea pigs,” the Rev. Shane Isner of First Christian Church said on the Capitol steps.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey told The Associated Press last week that the state was ready to proceed.
“Execution by that method was passed in 2018,” Ivey said. “The attorney general’s office and the Department of Corrections has assured us that all the protocols are in place, and we will carry out that law.”
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, the last Democrat to hold statewide office in Alabama, kicked off his campaign for governor Friday, saying voters deserve a choice and a leader who will put aside divisions to address the state’s pressing needs.
“With your help we can finish what we began. We can build the Alabama we’ve always deserved,” Jones told a packed crowd at a Birmingham campaign rally featuring musician Jason Isbell.
He said the state has urgent economic, health care and educational issues that are not being addressed by those in public office.
The campaign kickoff came on the eighth anniversary of Jones’ stunning 2017 win over Republican Roy Moore, and Jones said Alabama proved back then that it can defy “simplified labels of red and blue.”
“You stood up and you said something simple but powerful. We can do better,” Jones said. “You said with your votes that our values, Alabama values, are more important than any political party, any personality, any prepackaged ideology.”
His entry into the race sets up a possible rematch with Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who defeated Jones by 20 points in 2020 and is also now running for governor. Both will have party primaries in May before the November election.
Before running for office, Jones, a lawyer and former U.S. attorney, was best known for prosecuting two Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for Birmingham’s infamous 1963 church bombing.
Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. Credit: AP/Brynn Anderson
In an interview with The Associated Press, Jones said families are having a hard time with things like health care, energy bills and simply making ends meet.
“People are struggling,” he said. “They are hurting.”
Jones used part of his speech to describe his agenda if elected governor. He said it is time for Alabama to join most states in establishing a state lottery and expanding Medicaid. Expanding Medicaid, he said, will protect rural hospitals from closure and provide health care coverage to working families and others who need it.
He criticized Tuberville’s opposition to extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. Jones said many Alabama families depend on those subsides to buy health insurance “to keep their families healthy.”
Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., and gubernatorial candidate speaks during an event Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Birmingham, Ala. Credit: AP/Brynn Anderson
Alabama has not elected a Democratic governor since Don Siegelman in 1998. In 2020, Tuberville held Jones to about 40% of the vote, which has been the ceiling for Alabama Democrats in recent statewide races.
Retired political science professor Jess Brown said Jones lost in 2020 despite being a well-funded incumbent, and that’s a sign that he faces an uphill battle in 2026.
“Based on what I know today, at this juncture of the campaign, I would say that Doug Jones, who’s a very talented and bright man, is politically the walking dead,” Brown said.
Jones acknowledged being the underdog and said his decision to run stemmed in part from a desire for Tuberville not to coast into office unchallenged.
Jones pointed to recent Democratic victories in Georgia, Mississippi and other locations as cause for optimism.
Tuberville, who previously headed up the football program at Auburn University, had “no record except as a football coach” when he first ran, Jones said. And “now there are five years of being a United States senator. There are five years of embarrassing the state.”
Jones continued to question Tuberville’s residency, saying he “doesn’t even live in Alabama, and if he does, then prove me wrong.” Tuberville has a beach house in Walton County, Florida, but has repeatedly said Auburn is his home.
Tuberville’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has previously noted that he defeated Jones handily in 2020. Tuberville spent part of Friday with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Huntsville to mark the official relocation of U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama.
Jones’ 2017 victory renewed the hopes, at least temporarily, of Democratic voters in the Deep South state. Those gathered to hear him Friday cheered his return to the political stage.
“I’m just glad that there’s somebody sensible getting in the race,” Angela Hornbuckle said. “He proved that he could do it as a senator.”
Alabama Shakes have lined up a string of North American tour dates for 2026. Brittany Howard and the band’s spring run includes multiple stops in Florida and a concluding two-night stint at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado. Check out the new dates, plus their previously announced festival shows, European itinerary, and Zach Bryan support dates, below.
Support for the headline shows comes from Joy Oladokun, Mon Rovîa, Lamont Landers, and JJ Grey & Mofro. For every ticket sold, $1 will go towards nonprofits around the United States via the Alabama Shakes Fund, a press release notes. There is, as yet, no word on a follow-up to the band’s 2015 album, Sound & Color, but they did sign to Island this year and release their first single since that record.
Alabama Shakes:
04-16 Richmond, VA – Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront ~
04-17 Asheville, NC – ExploreAsheville.com Arena ~
04-18 Charleston, SC – High Water Fest
04-22 Memphis, TN – Grind City Amphitheater +
04-24 Atlanta, GA – Synovus Bank Amphitheater at Chastain Park +
04-25 Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater +
04-26 St. Augustine, FL – St. Augustine Amphitheatre %
04-28 Tallahassee, FL – Adderley Amphitheater %
04-29 Boca Raton, FL – Sunset Cove Amphitheater %
04-30 Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound %
05-02 New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
05-24 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre #
05-25 Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre #
06-13 Manchester, Tennessee – Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
07-01 Leeds, England – Millennium Square
07-02 Wasing, England – On the Mount at Wasing
07-03 London, England – Alexandra Palace *
07-05 Ghent, Belgium – Gent Jazz Festival
07-07 Lucca, Italy – Summer Festival
07-09 Lisbon, Portugal – NOS Alive Festival
07-10 Bilbao, Spain – BBK Live
07-11 Madrid, Spain – Noches del Botanico
07-25 Eugene, OR – Autzen Stadium ^
09-19 Dover, DE – The Woodlands ^
~ with Joy Oladokun
+ with Mon Rovîa
% with Lamont Landers
# with JJ Grey & Mofro
* with Tyler Ballgame
^ supporting Zach Bryan
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Jacob Crews scored 20, and Anthony Robinson II added 19 in Missouri’s 85-77 win over Alabama State on Thursday night.
Crews shot 7 of 9 from the field, including 6 of 8 from the 3-point arc. Mark Mitchell added 15 points for Missouri (9-2), and Sebastian Mack added 10.
The Tigers had a 15-0 run in the first half, heading into the locker room up 52-39. Alabama State was held scoreless over a 4:19 drought in the middle of the second half to open a 9-0 run for the Tigers. The Hornets (3-8) responded with their own 10-0 run to bring the game within eight, 74-62. The Tigers regained control, though, to keep their eight-point lead the rest of the game, handing Alabama State their fourth loss in a row.
The Tigers shot 65% (33 of 51). Both teams shot 50% from the free-throw line.
Alabama State outscored Missouri in the final period, 38-33. Asjon Anderscon scored 23 for the Hornets, leading all players in scoring.
Up next
Missouri hosts Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14.
Alabama State travels to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats on Dec. 17.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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