Death row execution method being used for first time ever on inmate this week

A controversial new method of execution is set to be used for the first time ever

The Alabama inmate was convicted of capital murder after being hired by Charles Sennett, a pastor, to allegedly murder his wife Elizabeth in order to cash out on their insurance policy.

Alongside his friend John Parker, Smith was paid $1,000 (£787) to go through with the plan.

They ambushed Elizabeth and beat and bludgeoned her, before stabbing her ten times with a six-inch knife.

Smith has previously survived an attempted execution by lethal injection, but last year Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed for a new method to be used on the inmate.

The new method of death by nitrogen hypoxia is set to be used to execute Smith on January 25.

The method has faced criticism

Although the method has never been used on a human before, it is legal in three states - Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi - in America.

It involves placing a respirator over the inmate's nose and mouth, and causing death via oxygen deprivation.

A December court hearing heard that nitrogen hypoxia will 'cause unconsciousness within seconds, and cause death within minutes'.

However, the UN high commissioner for human rights says the method of  'suffocation by nitrogen gas' is inhumane and a form of torture.

In the EU, the method has also been deemed unacceptable for many small mammals.

David Morton, professor emeritus of biomedical science and ethics at the University of Birmingham, said of the method: "It is effective, but it can cause severe distress before unconsciousness and death ensue.

"In effect it is a suffocation method.

"It is likely also that there will be considerable species variation, and we are not sure what will happen in humans," he explained to The Guardian.

"Animal experiments are usually used as a proxy for humans, but not so in this case it seems – the ultimate test is being carried out using a human being."

Smith's attorney appealed against the decision to use nitrogen hypoxia on his client last week, saying Smith would be used as a 'test subject'.