The state of Alabama in the United States executed a convicted murderer named Kenneth Eugene Smith using nitrogen gas, the first time this method was used in the United States.
Eugene Smith, 58, has lost his last two appeals in court to have the sentence stopped, saying it was cruel and unusual punishment.
In 2022, Alabama tried to kill Eugene Smith with a lethal injection.
He was convicted of murdering Elizabeth Sennett in 1989 in a hit-and-run plot that was carried out by her evangelical husband.
The Death Penalty Information Center reports that Eugene Smith became the first person in the world to be executed by nitrogen gas.
Alabama and two other U.S. states have approved the use of this method as lethal injection drugs have become increasingly difficult to obtain, reducing the use of the penalty in the United States.
Earlier Thursday, the Alabama Department of Corrections announced the details of the inmate’s last 48 hours.
Eugene Smith was visited by his family, two friends, his religious adviser, and his lawyer.
He had a breakfast of biscuits, eggs, peanut butter, and orange juice.
His last meal was steak, eggs and mashed potatoes.
The execution order was put into effect after the last appeals courts did not order it to be suspended.
Just killing someone with nitrogen has been condemned by some medical experts, who say it can increase the risks and dangers of using it in the public, from crime to suicide.
Last week, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for the execution of the man to be halted because it was torture, cruel and inhumane, saying it violated international humanitarian law.
