What was Kenneth Smith accused of?

Kenneth Eugene Smith, an American criminal, became infamous for his involvement in the shocking murder-for-hire of Elizabeth Sennett in Colbert County, Alabama, on March 18, 1988.

The heinous crime unfolded as part of a sinister plot orchestrated by Charles Sennett Sr., Elizabeth’s husband, who sought the assistance of individuals willing to carry out this brutal act.

Charles Sennett Sr. recruited Billy Gray Williams for the murderous task, and Williams, in turn, enlisted Kenneth Eugene Smith and John Forrest Parker to execute the plan.

Tragically, Elizabeth Sennett fell victim to their brutality, meeting her demise at the hands of Smith and Parker, who stabbed her to death at her home. The aftermath of this gruesome crime saw a series of tragic events unfold.

A week after Elizabeth Sennett’s murder, Pastor Charles Sennett Sr. took his own life upon learning he was a suspect in the investigation.

Billy Gray Williams, one of the three perpetrators, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole and passed away in prison in November 2020 due to an illness.

The remaining two, Smith and John Forrest Parker, were both sentenced to death.

The legal proceedings took an unexpected turn in November 2022 when Smith’s scheduled execution by lethal injection was halted due to the execution team’s inability to connect the intravenous lines in time.

This led to a settlement between the state and Smith, resulting in a significant development—the state agreed to forego the lethal injection method and instead opted for a secondary, novel execution method: nitrogen hypoxia.

As the controversy surrounding Smith’s case continued, he lost his final appeal to the Supreme Court. On January 25, 2024, Kenneth Eugene Smith became the first person to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, marking a historic and contentious moment in the annals of capital punishment.