A Dark Chapter in the Style of Alabama
Despite criticism and global revulsion, the US Supreme Court has decided to go ahead with an unprecedented execution in the state of Alabama.
The convict, who survived a lethal injection, now faces death by asphyxiation with nitrogen gas, an unprecedented method that will deprive the person of oxygen.
International controversy
Defying criticism from the United Nations Office for Human Rights, the US will proceed with this method, which, according to some, can be considered cruel and inhumane treatment.
The request to halt the execution by the lawyers of the prisoner, Kenneth Smith, has been refused by the Supreme Court, while maintaining the controversy that surrounds this decision.
Legal Struggle and Background
Smith’s lawyers had argued that no inmate in the US had ever been executed by nitrogen, marking a new stage in the controversy over execution methods.
This is not the first time Smith has faced the horror of the death penalty, having already survived a lethal injection. The court previously rejected this method, considered problematic by its painful attempt to find a vein for execution.
Doubts and Expansion of the Use of Nitrogen
The UN has expressed ‘serious’ doubts about the possibility that this execution could amount to torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
With Oklahoma and Mississippi joining the use of nitrogen gas, ethical questions and legal questions continue to mount on this sensitive issue.
Other Developments of Interest
Meanwhile, other important news continues to emerge on the national and international scene.
