MOLINE, Ill. — Alabama executed a convicted murderer with nitrogen gas Thursday, putting him to death with a first-of-its-kind method that once again placed the U.S. at the forefront of the debate over capital punishment. The state said the method would be humane, but critics called it cruel and experimental.
Breathing through a nitrogen-filled face mask that deprived him of oxygen, 58-year-old convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith convulsed in seizure-like spasms for at least two minutes of the 22-minute execution by nitrogen hypoxia.
Smith, who was paid $1,000 to kill an Alabama woman more than 30 years ago, said in a final statement: “Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards. I’m leaving with love, peace and light.”
The execution came after a last-minute legal battle in which his attorneys contended the state was making him the test subject for an experimental execution method that could violate the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Federal courts rejected Smith’s bid to block it, with the latest ruling coming Thursday night from the U.S. Supreme Court.
As the state of Alabama receives scrutiny for the execution method, deemed by some to be torturous and unusually harsh, we dive into the history of capital punishment in Illinois and Iowa.
The death penalty in Illinois
According to the Illinois Secretary of State's website, the state's first execution took place in 1819, when John Kilduck was hung for murder.
Between 1819 and 1999, 357 people were executed in Illinois.
From 1819 to 1928, Illinois' method of execution was hanging. Then from 1928 to 1962, convicted criminals were killed with the electric chair. There were no executions from 1962 to 1990 when Illinois began using lethal injection as an execution method. Between 1990 and 1999, lethal injection was used to execute 12 prisoners. The last execution in the state took place in 1999.
In 2000, Gov. George Ryan placed a moratorium on executions, before eventually commuting the sentences of 167 death row inmates.
In 2011, a bill to abolish the state's death penalty passed the Illinois House with 60 votes, the minimum needed to pass. The bill passed the Senate by a 32-25 vote and went into effect on July 1, 2011.
The death penalty in Iowa
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the State of Iowa executed 46 individuals from 1834 to 1965. All 46 individuals were executed by hanging.
Iowa abolished capital punishment in 1872. However, an increase in crime across the state blamed mainly on the abolishing of the death penalty led the state to reinstate capital punishment in 1878.
Capital punishment was abolished once and for all in 1965 by Gov. Harold Hughes. There have been attempts to reinstate the death penalty since, but none have been successful.
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