At 8:25 p.m. US time on Thursday, 58-year-old Kenneth Smith left this world in a correctional facility in Alabama.
His death ended a tragic 35-year affair and opened a new chapter in the death penalty in the United States.
（史密斯，图片来自Dailymail）
In 1988, the pastor Charles decided to kill his wife and cheat on insurance because of a huge debt.
For $1,000 each, he hired two men to kill his wife, one named John and the other Smith, who was 22 years old at the time.
Some time later, Charles's wife was found dead in the house, and the killer's methods were extremely cruel, she had eight stab wounds to the chest and one on each side of the neck.
The police quickly solved the case, Charles committed suicide in fear of the crime, and John and Smith were sentenced to death.
In 2010, John was executed and died, and as for Smith, he "died" twice......
（查理斯夫妇，图片来自Dailymail）
In November 2022, Smith underwent an intravenous death sentence, which failed.
The people who executed him could not find the veins in his arm, so they could only prick them back and forth on him. After several unsuccessful attempts, the executioner placed him on an inclined bed, head to foot, trying to concentrate the blood on his head and make the veins in his neck more visible.
But even so, the death penalty was not carried out.
After more than four hours of tossing and turning, Smith was still alive, but he was in great pain and fright, and his body was soaked in sweat and urine......
(The hospital bed where the death sentence was executed, image via Dailymail)
After discovering that intravenous injections could not kill Smith, the "nitrogen death penalty", which had been in the midst of controversy, became the answer.
The so-called nitrogen death penalty refers to the death penalty of suffocation due to lack of oxygen.
According to the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Commission, breathing pure nitrogen or other similar inert gas after only one or two breaths will cause a person to lose consciousness and feel no pain, which is a very suitable means of death penalty.
（氮气死刑示意图，图片来自Dailymail）
More importantly, American prisons need to use Smith's death to test the possibility of nitrogen death instead of lethal injection.
Because in recent years, the United States has run out of medicine......
In 2018, the director of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections admitted that it was already difficult to find legal lethal injection drugs in the United States.
Since Pfizer discontinued the production of lethal injection drugs, American prisons have resorted to various personal black workshops and even "smuggling" from the black market in India if they want to obtain these drugs.
（相关报道，图片来自Dailymail）
Therefore, there is an urgent need for the American prison authorities to find a new humane way of dying, that is, the nitrogen death penalty.
After discussion, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to approve the nitrogen death sentence, and Smith became the first person in the world to be executed by this method.
When the news of Smith's death was announced, many human rights groups protested. They said that the nitrogen death sentence would only make Smith "look pain-free," and that no one actually knew how much pain Smith had:
"Alabama has already tormented Mr. Smith once!
They pricked him with needles for hours, and now they're using him as a guinea pig testing dangerous solutions!
(Opposition human rights group, image via Dailymail)
However, their opposition did not affect the execution of the death penalty.
The time came on Thursday, and on the day of the execution, Smith had no appetite and refused all kinds of food offered to him by the prison.
After talking to his wife on the phone, he was taken to the room where the execution was carried out.
Before the execution, he again asked for the execution to be cancelled because he feared that the execution would cause him too much pain or cause vomiting, but his request was not accepted.
Eventually, he was put on a sealed mask that would suffocate him to death with 100% pure nitrogen......
(Schematic diagram)
Unexpectedly, the execution process was really as Smith expected, he did not lose consciousness immediately, but struggled on the hospital bed for three or four minutes, and then vomited in the mask, looking very painful.
He uttered his last words through his mask:
"Tonight, Alabama has set human civilization back a step...... I will leave with love, peace and light. ”
He then struggled to make a "I love you" gesture to the onlookers, adding, "Thank you for supporting me and loving all of you." ”
At 8:25 p.m., 22 minutes after the execution, Smith was officially pronounced dead......
（史密斯死亡的惩教所，图片来自Dailymail）
In addition to his wife and son, Smith's death was witnessed by the victim's two sons.
They offered to watch the execution to ensure that the 36-year-old murder was over......
"We just hope that this will end, and I'm sure so is his family, it's been 35 years......"
(The deceased's son is now gray-haired, image from Dailymail)
Personnel speculated that perhaps the mask was not completely sealed, causing a small amount of air to enter, which triggered Smith's pain.
This may indicate that the nitrogen death technology is still inadequate, but netizens do not feel pity:
Smith's pastor said he really struggled before he died, eating only a few bites of steak, hash browns and eggs for his last meal......
He can choose whether to eat or not to eat the last meal, but the victim can't!
（图片来自Dailymail）
I have no problem with the nitrogen death penalty, but why do we spend so much time and money to keep people on death row for so long?
（图片来自Dailymail）
I will never be happy that another person has been executed!
Truth be told, I wish we lived in a world where there would never be the death penalty, but whenever I think about how these poor sons spent the 35 years since their mother was brutally murdered, I can't help but think that death is justice for such a crime.
This killer has taken away 35 years of happy memories from this family!
（图片来自Dailymail）
Well done, it's just 27 years late.
(From conviction in 1996 to the present)
（图片来自Dailymail）
My heart is with the families of the victims.
（图片来自Dailymail）
Did he struggle to die, as he did with his victims?
（图片来自Dailymail）
As netizens said, not all suffering is deserved, but when people make mistakes, they should pay enough price.
Smith may have died a painful death, but at least it would be a warning to the world not to commit similar crimes again......