Kenneth Smith was almost executed by the State of Alabama for a murder for hire
According to court documents Kenneth Smith and John Forrest Parker were paid a $1000 by Rev. Charles Sennett to murder his wife Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett. The body of Elizabeth would later be found and she had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly
Rev. Charles Sennett body would be found in 1988 and he had been fatally shot with a shotgun. Sennett would commit suicide after being suspected of his wife’s murder
Kenneth Smith and John Forest Parker would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
John Forrest Parker would be executed on June 10 2010
Kenneth Smith execution would fail as the technicians were unable to properly insert the IV lines in order to send the drugs through
Kenneth Smith Photos
Kenneth Smith FAQ
When Is Kenneth Smith Execution
Kenneth Smith execution has yet to be scheduled
When Was John Forrest Parker Executed
John Forrest Parker was executed on June 10 2010
How Was John Forrest Parker Executed
John Forrest Parker was executed by lethal injection
Kenneth Smith Botched Execution
Kenneth Eugene Smith is a member of strange and horrific club: people Alabama has attempted to execute, but failed to do so in time. Its membership has been growing this year, with the state failing on two separate attempts to successfully complete a death sentence.
Smith, given a death sentence for his role in the 1988 murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett, was scheduled to be executed on Thursday evening.
With legal appeals still pending, Alabama began to prepare Smith for his execution, struggling for over an hour to place an IV line that would deliver his lethal injection drugs.
At 10.23pm, the US Supreme Court rejected his final appeal, clearing the way for his execution. At this point, he had been strapped to a gurney for multiple hours. As prison personnel continued to struggle to place an IV, jabbing Smith’s arm, hand, neck, and chest with large needles. An hour later, state officials called off the execution entirely, believing they wouldn’t complete by the midnight deadline of Smith’s death warrant.
Smith, who is now in litigation with the state of the Alabama because of the botched execution, told The Atlantic the experience was “like a knife,” and that he told prison officials over and over again he was feeling pain, even though he was supposed to have been fully anesthetised.
“And I kept telling them,” Smith added, “call the f***ing judge. My case number is 2:22-CV-497. Somebody in this f***ing room call the judge or call my lawyer.”
His wife, who asked to remain anonymous, told Newsweek Smith now needs to “heal both physically and mentally from this ordeal as they caused him great physical pain and mental trauma during this process.”
State officials defended their handling of the execution, and seemed to blame Mr Smith’s appeals for the difficulties carrying out the killing, rather than an inability to place an IV.
“Although that justice could not be carried out tonight because of last minute legal attempts to delay or cancel the execution, attempting it was the right thing to do,” governor Kay Ivey said in a statement. “My prayers are with the victim’s children and grandchildren as they are forced to relive their tragic loss.”
Alabama’s last three executions have been marred by scandal.
In July, Joe Nathan James’s killing was mysteriously delayed more than three hours, and state officials never confirmed to media observers he was ever fully unconscious before being killing. An outside autopsy found that his body was scarred all over with irregular cuts, suggesting another prolonged attempt to place an IV line.
Then, in September, Alabama officials called off the execution of Alan Miller, after prison personnel were once again unable to connect the man to lethal injection drugs in time to match the death warrant deadline.
On Monday, Governor Ivey announced a de facto moratorium on executions in the state, promising that corrections officials will embark on “a top-to-bottom review of the state’s execution process” so that “the state can successfully deliver justice going forward.”
“For the sake of the victims and their families, we’ve got to get this right,” she added.
As The Independent reported, last week saw four planned executions in 48 hours, including that of Smith, and each case was dogged with various black marks, including innocence claims, procedural issues, more medical trauma, and accusations of police racism and misconduct.
