Friday, Smith’s attorney Robert Grass, told the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that the mask method the state will use could leak oxygen and cause Smith extreme discomfort.

“This is the first time this has even been attempted. There is not data to exactly what is going to happen and how this will go forward,” Grass said.

After the Department of Corrections was unable to find a vein to carry out Smith’s November 2022 lethal injection, he requested death by nitrogen hypoxia.

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The lawyer for the Alabama Department of Corrections, Edmond LaCour, told the panel that the face-sized mask protocol they are employing will comply with the Constitution.

“Alabama has adopted the most painless and humane form of execution known to man. Dozens of condemned inmates have expressly chosen nitrogen hypoxia, and Smith has been asking for it since 2022,” LaCour said.

Grass said Smith would prefer the State to use a closed chamber or a hood to avoid the oxygen leakage complication and possible vomit from filling up the mask if he becomes nauseous during the procedure.

“Vomit can leave the hood, as opposed to a mask, if you’re mind-prone, there is really no place else for it to go except back into your mouth and potentially into your airwaves,” Grass said.

Smith was convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Sennett in Colbert County.

LaCour said it is time for the death row inmates to receive the justice they’ve counted on for more than three decades.

“Thirty-five years, her family has had to wait for justice. It was 2022 when Mr. Smith first informed the courts that he had a feasible and readily available to face his just-earned sentence via nitrogen hypoxia. It is time that he received the sentence that he has asked for and that he has earned,” LaCour said.