By Andrew Chung
(Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a bid to halt Alabama from proceeding with the nation’s first execution using nitrogen gas to carry out the death penalty on convicted murderer Kenneth Smith, who survived a botched lethal injection in 2022 that helped prompt a review of the state’s death penalty procedures.
The justices denied Smith’s request to stay his execution – scheduled for Thursday – and declined to hear his legal challenge contending that a second execution attempt by Alabama – after the first failed attempt caused him severe trauma – would violate the U.S. Constitution Eighth Amendment’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
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