.ON JANUARY 25TH Kenneth Eugene Smith ended up being the first person anywhere to be executed through nitrogen hypoxia. He was pronounced guilty in 1989 of killing Elizabeth Sennett, the other half of a sermonizer from Alabama, on her partner's orders. The condition possessed very first tried to execute him, by fatal injection, in Nov 2022, but bungled the treatment. After that, Mr Smith picked to be put to death through novel ways. His punishment has resulted in indignation: Alabama professes nitrogen hypoxia is a simple, pain-free fatality yet lots of health care experts disagree. Some have likened it to abuse. Why did Alabama authorize this untried technique?