The imminent execution of an American prisoner by suffocation by nitrogen gas could amount to torture, the UN human rights office, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk said in a statement on Tuesday, according to Ednews.
Turk expressed deep regret over the execution, highlighting serious concerns about the novel and untested method amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. He urged all states to implement a moratorium on the death penalty, emphasizing that it is inconsistent with the fundamental right to life.
Kenneth Smith, a convicted murderer, has become the first person to be executed by asphyxiation with nitrogen gas in the United States.
Officials said 58-year-old Smith was pronounced dead at 8:25pm on Thursday (02:25 GMT on Friday) at Holman Correctional Facility in Alabama after breathing pure nitrogen gas through a face mask to cause oxygen deprivation.
