Stop the Execution of Kenneth Smith
Governor Kay Ivey
Kenneth Smith is scheduled for execution in Alabama on November 17, 2022 for the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett.
In 1996, Smith was convicted in a murder-for-hire plot that led to the death of Sennett in her home. Court records show that Sennett’s husband, a reverend who later took his own life, hired a man named Billy Williams to kill his wife. Williams, in turn, hired Smith and another man, John Parker, to stage a burglary and kill Elizabeth.
Williams was convicted of his role in the murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Parker, too, was convicted of Sennett’s murder and was executed in 2010.
As for Smith, a jury recommended by vote of 11 to 1 that he should receive a sentence of life without parole for his role in Sennett’s death, but a judge overrode that verdict and sentenced him to execution. Alabama ended jury overrides in 2017.
“If Smith’s trial had occurred today, he would not be eligible for execution,” a federal appeals court wrote of Smith’s case in 2021.
Issues of concern:
Please sign the petition asking Governor Ivey to do everything within her power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.
Sponsored by
To:
Governor Kay Ivey
From:
[Your Name]
We are writing to ask that you to stop the November 17 execution of Kenneth Smith for the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett.
Issues of concern include:
1. Mr. Smith's jury voted 11-1 for a life without the possibility parole sentence.
2. Mr. Smith's rights were violated by the State's refusal to enter into good faith plea agreement.
3. Alabama is failing to reveal the expiration date of the execution drugs.
4. Alabama is failing to reveal the source of its execution drugs.
5. Alabama still uses a method of execution with drugs considered by some States to be in violation of the Constitution and ethically, morally wrong.
6. Alabama ought to delay all executions to allow for a thorough study of its capital punishment process and consider the serious objections raised as to how it administers the death penalty.
We are concerned that while the vast majority of states with capital punishment continue on a downward trend of executions, Alabama has continued to go against trend by carrying on with scheduled execution dates.
Additionally, Alabama has repeatedly shown that it is not capable of carrying out executions, as it is botching its lethal injection process - amounting to cruel punishment and the torture of prisoners.
We, the undersigned, ask that you do everything within your power to stop this execution, including issuing a stay, and seeking a path to clemency in the case.
Thank you for your time and attention to this serious matter.