Kenneth Smith is scheduled for execution in Alabama on January 25, 2024 for the 1988 murder of Elizabeth Sennett.

NOTE: On November 17, 2022, the state of Alabama FAILED in its attempted lethal injection execution of Kenneth Smith, poking him and cutting him for hours before sending him back to his cell alive. This left him severely physically scarred and deeply traumatized. Now they will try again, this time using a never-before-tried experimental form of the gas chamber, forcing him to wear an airtight mask so that they can suffocate him with what they call nitrogen hypoxia. Click here to listen to Kenny describe his trauma as the execution date approaches.

See operative petition language below and add your name.

• Sign the petition against nitrogen hypoxia
• Read more about problems with executions in Alabama and demand greater transparency

If you live in proximity to Montgomery, Alabama, join us for a rally & petition delivery at 11am CT on January 23, 2024 on the steps in front of the Alabama State Capitol.

BACKGROUND

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:

• Mr. Smith's jury voted 11-1 for a life without the possibility parole sentence.
• Mr. Smith's rights were violated by the State's refusal to enter into good faith plea agreement.
• No one has ever been executed using this new method of "nitrogen hypoxia"/gas chamber.
• On November 17, 2022, the state of Alabama FAILED in its attempted lethal injection execution of Kenneth Smith, poking him ad cutting him for hours before sending him back to his cell alive. This left him severely physically scarred and deeply traumatized.
• 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.

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.