The Supreme Court Rejects Alabama Death Row Inmate’s Stay of Execution Request

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an Alabama death row inmate’s last-minute request for a stay of execution, moving him a step closer to being put to death using an untested method: nitrogen gas.

Kenneth Smith, sentenced to death for murdering Elizabeth Sennett in 1988, objected to being executed by nitrogen hypoxia because of the potential for the state to botch the procedure. He alleged it would violate his right to be free of cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.

He is scheduled to be executed on Thursday.

Read the source article at NBC News