Law and Order
Rev. Jeff Hood witnessed both the state's first and last nitrogen execution. He's been fighting back ever since
In January 2024, spiritual advisor Reverend Jeff Hood stood witness in Alabama to the country’s first nitrogen execution. It was a horrific experience, he says, like watching a goldfish out of water, but far worse. Last week, though, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling that blocked one Alabama man’s execution on grounds that the use of nitrogen gas constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. That case sets a precedent that could effectively prevent such a method from being used again on Alabama inmates.
Jeffrey Lee was scheduled to be put to death on July 11 for a 1998 double murder, but challenged the relatively new form of execution — a kind of asphyxiation by gas — which has led to some inmates dying slow, painful death, despite claims that the method is more humane than others.
“Probably the last thing I could have imagined was becoming an expert on nitrogen executions,” Hood tells Rolling Stone. Nevertheless, as the inmate Kenneth Smith’s spiritual adviser, he witnessed America’s first execution by nitrogen in January of 2024. “When I first got in touch with Kenny, he made me promise to tell the world his story. I was the first person to tell the world what had just happened, I considered that a tremendous responsibility, and that responsibility hasn’t subsided.”
