05 January 2024 :
January 2, 2024 - Warden approves spiritual plan for January execution of Colbert County inmate
Just over one week after the spiritual advisor to death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith sued the state’s Department of Corrections, a spiritual plan for Smith’s upcoming execution has been approved.
The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) is set to execute Smith by nitrogen hypoxia in January, marking the first time the method will ever be used. The method involves being fitted with a mask and inhaling pure nitrogen.
On Friday, Smith’s spiritual advisor Rev. Jeff Hood said that Terry Raybon, Warden of Holman Correctional Facility, approved a spiritual plan constructed by Hood and Smith to be used during the execution.
ADOC originally said it would require Hood be at least 3 feet away during the process. That’s to limit his own risk in the “highly unlikely event that the hose supplying breathing gas to the mask were to detach,” according to an ADOC form Smith signed.
Hood’s lawsuit argued that not being able to touch Smith to pray over him in his last moments violates his religious liberty, citing a 2022 Supreme Court case.
“Well, why is it important for your minister to touch you when you are baptized?” Hood said during a virtual press conference on Dec. 14. “The Supreme Court has said that religious liberty in these moments is sacred.”
Hood says the agreement with the warden allows him to share the eucharist with Smith before entering the execution chamber, anoint Smith’s head with oil in the chamber and place his hands on Smith’s feet while praying and reading scripture during the execution.
The state has also agreed to not place the mask on Smith’s face until he is anointed with oil, Hood says.
You can read Hood’s full statement regarding the execution below:
“Wow. The State of Alabama seems willing to do whatever it takes to execute Kenneth Smith. Late yesterday, the State sent word that it had agreed to all of the religious liberty requests contained in my lawsuit. If Kenneth is executed, I will be able to share the Eucharist with him before he enters the chamber, anoint his head with oil when I enter the chamber and place my hands on his feet while praying and reading scripture during the execution process. To accommodate such actions, the State has agreed to not place the mask on Kenneth’s face until the anointing of oil is completed. While I know that this huge victory will not save Kenneth’s life or make the execution chamber any safer for me, I do take some solace in the fact that my efforts have secured his religious liberty and the religious liberty of all who might be executed in the future using nitrogen hypoxia. In the coming days, I will continue ministering to Kenneth, work to stop his execution and prepare my family for the very real possibility that I will not return from this execution if it goes forward.”
Smith was convicted of a murder-for-hire-killing in Colbert County in 1988. Court records show Smith said he was paid $1,000 for the killing by the victim’s husband, Charles Sennett Sr., a Colbert County minister. Smith said two other men were also involved. Charles Sennett killed himself before facing charges.
The Associated Press reported on November 2 that the Alabama Supreme Court in a 6-2 decision granted the state attorney general’s request for an execution warrant for Kenneth Eugene Smith. The order did not specify the execution method, but the Alabama attorney general indicated in filings with the court that it intends to use nitrogen to put Smith to death.
The AP says Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced the decision on Nov. 1, saying the ruling had “cleared the way” for execution by nitrogen hypoxia after Sennett’s family “waited an unconscionable 35 years to see justice served.”
Smith’s execution window is set for a 30-hour time frame beginning at midnight on Thursday, January 25, 2024, and expiring at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, January 26, 2024.
https://whnt.com/news/alabama-news/warden-approves-spiritual-plan-for-january-execution-of-colbert-county-inmate/
https://ground.news/article/warden-approves-spiritual-plan-for-january-execution-of-colbert-county-inmate
