Alabama
Planned Alabama execution latest example of barbarism in America
In 1996, Kenneth Eugene Smith was convicted of committing a murder for hire in 1988, stabbing Elizabeth Sennett to death on behalf of her husband. The husband died by suicide when he became a suspect in his wife’s murder. Smith and John Forrest Parker were sentenced to death for their role in the barbaric murder.
Tomorrow, Jan. 25, it seems likely the state of Alabama will outdo Smith on the barbarism scale, executing Smith with a new method, nitrogen hypoxia. If it works as planned, Smith would become unconscious, and then it “would cause death by forcing the inmate to breathe pure nitrogen, depriving him or her of the oxygen needed to maintain bodily functions.” That is a big “if” because the method has never been tried before.
At least not on humans. A team of veterinarian researchers analyzed various means of euthanizing animals and concluded in 2020 that nitrogen hypoxia was suitable for birds and for pigs under certain circumstances but is “unacceptable for other mammals.”
Smith is entitled to some doubts about Alabama’s track record on performing humane executions. In November 2022, he was punctured with intravenous needles for nearly four hours as doctors searched for veins capable of handling the execution cocktail for a lethal injection.
“I was strapped down, couldn’t catch my breath,” Smith told NPR’s Chiara Eisner recently. “I was shaking like a leaf. I was absolutely alone in a room full of people, and not one of them tried to help me at all, and I was crying out for help. It was a month or so before I really started to come back to myself.”
Smith’s case, as is typical of such situations, is not as cut and dried from a legal perspective. His “initial conviction was overturned by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. In his second trial, the jury recommended 11-1 that Kenny receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole,” according to the Catholic Mobilizing Network, the nation’s leading anti-death penalty organization. “But the judge overrode this verdict and sentenced Kenny to death, once again.”
What is more, according to Catholic Mobilizing Network: “Alabama has since amended its sentencing laws to say that the jury, not the judge, makes the final decision on sentencing in a capital trial.” If Smith’s second trial happened today, and the jury reached the same conclusion, he would not be on death row at all.
There are so many reasons to stop the execution that are particular to this case, it is remarkable that we are even discussing it. Still, the most important reason to stop the execution is not because of what it does to Smith but what it does to us. It turns us into barbarians.
Alas, America in 2024 is not allergic to barbarism and our culture has long since stopped evidencing any particular concern for human life.
When asked earlier this month in a radio interview about his fight with the Biden administration over how to handle migration, Texas Gov. Greg Abbot said, “The only thing that we’re not doing is we’re not shooting people who come across the border, because of course, the Biden administration would charge us with murder.”
The violence in our cities and in our schools has not caused a single prominent Republican politician in the pro-gun caucus to reevaluate their stance.
Pro-choice Democrats vie with each other for who can craft and adopt the most extreme laws, eliminating any restrictions on abortion.
Assisted suicide laws stalled in the U.S. last year but our neighbors to the north are planning to extend their law to allow people with mental illness to sign up for state-sponsored, doctor-administered, death.
Rome had its gladiators and America has professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
The internet is littered with videos of school kids beating up other kids, people getting beaten up on the street by thieves.
Last Sunday, at Mass, the first reading told of the prophet Jonah warning the city of Nineveh to turn away from its sins: “Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, ‘Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,’ when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.”
Americans are not likely to start fasting anytime soon. We have no sackcloth. We cherish our indifference to human life and we enjoy our barbarism. Smith is the most obvious and immediate victim, but it is the rest of us who will be judged too, and judged by what we do to him.
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
Let’s crank up a Thursday edition of “The Joe Gaither Show on BamaCentral” with Mason Woods and Katie Windham as we start getting ready for next week’s College Football Playoff game between Alabama and Oklahoma. Windham detailed how the Crimson Tide can improve over the next few weeks, we discuss the team’s health and look back at our last road trip to Norman. The show then discusses the Heisman Trophy finalists before addressing a Kalen DeBoer coaching rumor.
The program opens by power ranking the holidays before discussing Windham’s three areas the Crimson Tide can improve over the next week. Our trio picks the easiest area the team can improve and how Alabama must perform in Norman. Windham details our last trip to Oklahoma as we go down memory lane to the Sooners’ 24-3 victory last season.
The show continues on by getting Windham’s thoughts on Alabama’a College Football Playoff selection and if the Crimson Tide actually deserved its place in the field. She brings up a unique aspect of Alabama’s blowout loss in the SEC Championship and how it played into the program’s inclusion in the College Football Playoffs.
We move from next week’s game into a small discussion on Notre Dame’s reaction of being left out of the field and how it relates to Alabama’s future home-and-home dates with the Fighting Irish. Will the two esteemed programs still face off in a few years?
The show heads into the only college football action of the weekend by highlighting the strong Heisman Trophy finalist field. Who brings home the bronze statue?
Lastly, we spend the final bit of the show talking about Michigan firing Sherrone Moore and the reports of the Wolverines considering persuing Kalen DeBeor for their next head coach. Will DeBoer leave Tuscaloosa for Ann Arbor?
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – As holiday deliveries ramp up, a new Alabama law aims to deter package theft by raising penalties for so-called “porch piracy.” The law, which went into effect on October 1, 2025, makes repeated package theft a felony and can carry prison sentences of up to 10 years in the most serious cases.
What changed
Previously, many package thefts in Alabama were charged as misdemeanor theft because the value of individual stolen packages often fell below felony thresholds. Under the new law however, lawmakers established penalties that focus on the number of homes targeted rather than the dollar value of items stolen:
- Stealing from 1 to 9 homes: most serious misdemeanor
- Stealing from 10 to 29 homes: felony
- Stealing from 30 or more homes: can result in up to 10 years in prison
The law also increases penalties if stolen packages are used to commit identity theft or fraud. In addition, anyone who knowingly receives packages stolen by a porch pirate can be charged under the new rules.
Lawmakers weigh in
Senator April Weaver, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the change was meant to protect Alabama families during the holidays.
“It was really important to protect the people not only in my district but throughout the state of Alabama and to make sure their hard-earned money is going to their children’s Christmas,” she said.
On camera, Senator Weaver added with holiday humor, “It means the Grinch may have stolen Christmas in Whoville, but if he does it in Alabama, he’ll have plenty of time in state prison for his heart to grow three sizes.”
What police recommend if your package is stolen
If you discover a stolen package, law enforcement recommends:
- Report the theft to police immediately.
- Preserve any doorbell or surveillance footage that may show the theft.
- Contact the delivery company right away to report the missing item.
- Consider requiring a signature on delivery to reduce the risk of theft.
The law went into effect on October 1, 2025; this December marks the first holiday season it is in effect. Alabama is now one of more than a dozen states that have passed laws specifically targeting package theft. Supporters say the law sends a stronger message that porch piracy will no longer be treated as a minor offense.
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