* The Louisiana House Judiciary Committee will be voting on SB 430 (to keep nitrogen as a form of execution) at 9am CDT on May 21, 2024.
05/21/2024
Dear Legislators.
I was the closest witness to the first nitrogen execution in Alabama. Please hear me out.
Our common humanity will be either our common triumph or our common downfall. Right now, it is our lack of humanity that is making room for conversations about new execution methods. We are desperate to find ways to humanely kill those we condemn. There is no humane way to kill a person. We seem so determined to go backward. In Alabama, we were promised humanity in the first nitrogen hypoxia execution. What we saw was everything but.
As Kenneth Smith’s spiritual advisor, I was in the chamber before, during and after the curtains were opened for his execution. Meaning, I watched him slowly suffocate to death. There is no one alive today who has been closer to a nitrogen hypoxia execution than I have. This is what I saw:
Affixed with a gas mask that went from the top of his head to under his chin, Kenneth said goodbye. Then, the nitrogen started to flow. I watched as Kenneth’s head turned redder and redder. His body began to pump adrenaline ferociously. It looked as if his head was going to explode — perhaps even his whole body. We were told that Kenneth would go unconscious in seconds. Then, seconds started to turn into minutes. Kenneth began to heave. Each time he rose, mucus, saliva and other fluids shot from his mouth and out the front of the mask. The liquids began to drizzle down like a waterfall. His eyeballs were bulging out. Back and forth over and over, everything, everywhere moving all at once. Like a fish out of water being stepped on until they flop no more.
There are times when the bluster of politicians is nothing more than that. There are other times where that bluster has real consequences. This is one such time. Those championing nitrogen executions as painless, safe and humane have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. I saw it. I promise that you don’t want anyone else to be able to say the same.
The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood
National Death Row Spiritual Advisor
+This is an interview I did with CNN right after I walked out of the first nitrogen hypoxia execution.
+This article in The New York Times contains my account and a variety of others from diverse perspectives.
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