Alabama will be allowed to carry out the country’s first inmate execution by nitrogen gas after a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday — just one day before a convicted killer is set to die by the new method. The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals rejected convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop his scheduled Jan. 25 execution by the new method, in which he would be delivered only nitrogen and would die from a lack of oxygen. The judges said in a 3-2 decision there was “no doubt that death by nitrogen hypoxia is both new and novel” but that Smith had failed to prove his arguments that the experimental method violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. “Because we are bound by Supreme Court precedent, Smith cannot say that the use of nitrogen hypoxia, as a new and novel method, will amount to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment by itself,” the majority wrote in its opinion. Circuit Judge Jill A. Pryor dissented from the decision, saying there were “real doubts” about the protocol and what Smith would experience. Read more at https://nypost.com/2024/01/24/news/federal-court-approved-kenneth-eugene-smiths-execution-by-nitrogen-gas/ #alabama #kennetheugenesmith #deathpenalty The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more. Subscribe to New York Post Sports: https://www.youtube.com/c/nypostsports Catch the latest news here: https://nypost.com/ Follow The New York Post on: Twitter - https://twitter.com/nypost Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NYPost