Capital Punishment

By: Emma Baran

Kenneth Eugene Smith
Smith was a man convicted of a first degree
murder “for hire” in Alabama in 1989. He and
two other men, John Forrest Parker and Billy
Gray Williams, were hired by Charles Sennett
to kill his wife, Elizabeth Sennett. Leading up
to the murder, Charles Sennett was facing
troubles with debt and having an affair. His
solution to these issues was to kill his wife.
Elizabeth Sennett was an admirable mother,
housewife, and an all around wonderful
woman. Unfortunately for her, her husband
made poor life decisions which cost her, her
life.
Billy Gray Williams was the orchestrator, and
therefore divided the money provided by around
$1,000 each. On the night of May 18th, 1989, Smith,
Parker, and Williams took the life of Elizabeth
Sennett, and were subsequently caught within the
week. In response to the capture of the killers,
Charles Sennett committed suicide, unwilling to face
his consequences. Williams was given a life sentence
and died in prison; however, Parker and Smith were
handed life sentences for having a heavier part in the
murder, and were moved to death row. Parker was
executed in 2010, but Smith wasn't executed until
two weeks ago on January 25th, 2024. Here's why:
The Lead Up To January 25th, 2024
After Smith’s conviction in 1989, the original conviction was overturned, resulting in a
retrial. During the retrial, the jury found him guilty and recommended he be sentenced to
life in prison; but, the judge overruled the jury and sentenced Smith to death. Since
Smith’s trial, Alabama has repealed the law that allowed judges to overrule the jury. After
his second conviction, Smith sat on death row until 2022 when he was moved to be
executed by lethal injection, but lived due to an issue with the administering IV. This
failed attempt at execution led Smith back to death row until two weeks ago when he was
executed by nitrogen gas. Here's why this method of execution is an important detail:
Alabama and The Death Penalty
Alabama is one of the remaining twenty-one
states that use the death penalty. Twenty-three
states have abolished the death penalty, and
six states have halted all executions with
executive orders. In 2023, there were a total of
twenty-four executions in the United States,
all by lethal injection. However, it is becoming
increasingly difficult to find the ingredients
necessary for the injection, and companies
have begun refusing to provide the
government with any tools used in executions.
Alabama has been researching new ways of
conducting executions that will be more
“painless and humane”, to use their own
words. In developing the method of nitrogen
hypoxia, Smith was to be their first
experiment. Alabama stated that the nitrogen
gas would “...cause unconsciousness within
seconds, and cause death within minutes.”
However, this statement contrasted
dramatically with how the execution actually
took place. Witnesses say Smith thrashed
around for twenty-two minutes before his
inevitable death.
Capital Punishment
Capital punishment, or “the death penalty”, has been
a long debated topic in American politics.
Throughout history, there has been reforms and
resurgences in the usage of execution, which follows
the trend in public opinion regarding capital
punishment. In 2023, around 50% of Americans
believe that the death penalty is administered
unfairly; however, around 53% of Americans in
2023 were in support of the death penalty. These
numbers are at a record low compared to past
decades.
In My Opinion:
The death penalty is an egregious violation of the eighth amendment. In developing this new
method of nitrogen hypoxia, Alabama has stated that they created a “humane” way of
executing a convicted individual. In no way is any form of execution humane, especially an
experimental new method that has never been tested on a human before. In fact, in 2020, The
American Veterinary Medical Association wrote euthanasia guidelines, and within them
stated that nitrogen hypoxia is an unacceptable form of euthanasia because of the distressing
circumstances it creates for the animal. Recently, four professional anesthesiologists with the
UN filed a complaint and then issued a warning that by using nitrogen, they were putting
Smith at risk of seizures and choking to death on his own vomit. I also believe that since
Alabama repealed the law that stated judges cannot overrule the jury, Smith should have
been granted a retrial, or at least have his sentence commuted to life in prison without the
chance of parole.
Why Capital Punishment Should Be Completely Abolished
1. States use taxpayer money to carry out executions
a. The average cost of an execution is around $1 million. In comparison to housing a convicted felon for life,
execution is far more costly. More importantly, the raised taxes aren't given to areas of real concern such as
mental health treatment, victim services, and drug treatment programs.
2. Studies have shown that the death penalty does not deter crime
a. Graph from Death Penalty Information Center
b.

3. Capital punishment is disproportionately used against marginalized individuals

a. Studies have shown that certain groups of people such as: impoverished individuals, people with intellectual
disabilities, and people of color are the most affected by the death penalty. Those who cannot afford the best
lawyers, are not awarded the same consequences as those who can. Meaning that, often those sentenced to death
are not the worst criminals, just the ones who can't afford a lawyer besides the overworked court appointed one.
This does not mean that impoverished citizens are targeted, or that awful criminals are not also sentenced to
death, I am just pointing out what the statistics are telling us.
In Conclusion
Capital punishment is currently a state issue. And, in order to completely abolish it,
conservatives and republicans (the main supporters of the death penalty) will have to vote
in favor of its abolition. Unfortunately, the remaining states with the death penalty are
largely republican; and, if they are anything like Alabama, they will want to continue
evolving execution, not stopping it. If SCOTUS were to change their current opinion on
the death penalty, we could see a change in executions; but again, the Supreme Court
majority leans conservative and is unlikely to rule for the abolition of the death penalty.
 Citations
Chandler, K. (2024, January 26). Alabama calls nitrogen execution method painless and humane, but critics are raising
doubts. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/alabama-nitrogen-execution-death-penalty-95fabff69f275a77fe76e54f453c50f3

The death penalty in 2023: Year End Report. Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.-c).
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/dpic-reports/dpic-year-end-reports/the-death-penalty-in-2023-year-end-report#public-opi
nion

The death penalty: A punishment for the poor?. International Federation for Human Rights. (2017, October 10).
https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/death-penalty/the-death-penalty-a-punishment-for-the-poor

Execution database. Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.-a).

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/database/executions?year=2023

Murder rate of death penalty states compared to non-death penalty states. Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.-b).
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/murder-rates/murder-rate-of-death-penalty-states-compared-to-non-death-penalty-states

Soken-Huberty, E. (2023, October 15). 10 reasons why the death penalty is wrong. Human Rights Careers.
https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/why-death-penalty-is-wrong/#:~:text=%238.-,It%20has%20a%20racial%20bias,13%25%2
0of%20the%20general%20population
.

Chandler, K. (2024b, January 26). Alabama executes a man with nitrogen gas, the first time the new method has been