MONTGOMERY-Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday announced she has set the timeframe for the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith to occur beginning 12:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 25, 2024 and expiring 6:00 a.m. on Friday, January 26, 2024. The execution will be carried out by nitrogen hypoxia, the method previously requested by the inmate as an alternative to lethal injection.
Smith was twice convicted by juries for the murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett in her home in Colbert County in 1988. Sennett was a pastor’s wife who was beaten and stabbed. Smith confessed to his role in the crime and has been on death row since 1996.
The execution will be the first using nitrogen. The state Legislature approved the method of execution in 2018, and gave inmates one month to opt-in to changing their execution method from the default lethal injection to nitrogen hypoxia.
