An Alabama inmate would be the test subject for the “experimental” execution method of nitrogen hypoxia, his lawyers argued, as they asked judges to deny the state’s request to carry out his death sentence using the new method.
In a Friday court filing, attorneys for Kenneth Eugene Smith asked the Alabama Supreme Court to reject the state attorney general’s request to set an execution date for Smith using the proposed new execution method. Nitrogen gas is authorized as an execution method in three states but it has never been used to put an inmate to death.
Smith’s attorneys argued the state has disclosed little information about how nitrogen executions would work, releasing only a redacted copy of the proposed protocol.
I won’t lose sleep over a real murderer being killed.
My issue is the systemic failure of our justice system, not a guilty individual losing their life. So I’ll ask again: how many innocent people is it worth sacrificing to get the ones who really have it coming, and why?
We know that innocent people will be killed via capital punishment. Why is the institution worth keeping when life in prison is cheaper and allows for remuneration when the justice system inevitably gets one wrong?
Well, it’s not like we should treat 20 years in prison less lightly. And we certainly do.