This week marked the first time in 42 years that a new execution method is been used in the United States since lethal injection, now the most commonly used method, was introduced in 1982.
Alabama, a state in the United States has executed a man with nitrogen gas, the first time the method has been used.
Alabama executed the 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.
Officials said Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. at an Alabama prison after breathing pure nitrogen gas through a face mask to cause oxygen deprivation.
The execution took about 22 minutes, and Smith appeared to remain conscious for several minutes. For at least two minutes, he appeared to shake and writhe on the gurney, sometimes pulling against the restraints.
That was followed by several minutes of heavy breathing until breathing was no longer perceptible.
