Case file
Execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith
Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett, 45, was killed in her Colbert County, Alabama home on March 18, 1988. Her husband, the Reverend Charles Sennett Sr., had recruited tenant Billy Gray Williams to arrange her murder in exchange for payment; Williams in turn recruited Kenneth Eugene Smith and John Forrest Parker. Smith and Parker gained entry to the Sennett home under the pretext of surveying land for hunting, then beat Elizabeth Sennett with household items including a fireplace set, a walking cane, and a length of pipe, before stabbing her eight times with a survival knife. Investigators later concluded that Charles Sennett himself stabbed his wife after returning home and finding her injured, prior to calling police. A week after the murder, once he became a suspect, Charles Sennett confessed to his sons that he had arranged his wife's killing and then fatally shot himself.
Smith was tried in Jefferson County after a change of venue from Colbert County. In his first trial, a jury recommended death by a 10–2 vote and he was sentenced to death in 1989, but that conviction and sentence were vacated on appeal in 1992. In a second trial, the jury recommended a life sentence by an 11–1 vote, but the judge overruled the jury and imposed a death sentence in 1996. Billy Gray Williams was sentenced to life without parole and died in prison in November 2020. John Forrest Parker was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on June 10, 2010.
Smith's first scheduled execution, by lethal injection on November 17, 2022, was called off after the execution team was unable to establish IV access before the death warrant expired, despite a period in which Smith remained strapped to a gurney after a stay had been issued and then lifted by the U.S. Supreme Court. This was described as the third consecutive botched execution carried out by the state of Alabama, prompting Governor Kay Ivey to order a review of execution procedures.
The state subsequently sought, and Smith agreed to, execution by nitrogen hypoxia, a method never previously used in any execution worldwide. Alabama's governor set January 25, 2024, as the execution date. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Smith's final appeal or grant a stay. Smith was fitted with a full-face mask and administered nitrogen gas beginning at 7:57 p.m.; witnesses described him convulsing and breathing heavily for several minutes before he was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m. Alabama officials characterized his physical reactions as expected involuntary responses, while an autopsy later found signs of pulmonary edema and fluid in his lungs and trachea. Outside medical experts and the United Nations human rights office raised concerns that the method may have caused significant suffering. Sennett's sons stated after the execution that they felt justice had been served for their mother's death.
Key facts
- Victims
- Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett
- Date
- 2024
- Location
- Colbert County, Alabama, United States
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
1965-07-04
Kenneth Eugene Smith is born.
1988-03-18
Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett is found fatally beaten and stabbed at her home in Colbert County, Alabama.
1988-03-25
Charles Sennett Sr. is questioned by investigators, later confesses to his sons that he arranged his wife's killing, and fatally shoots himself.
1989
Smith is convicted and sentenced to death after his first trial, with a jury recommendation of 10–2 for death.
1992
Smith's first conviction and death sentence are vacated on appeal.
1996
In a second trial, a jury recommends a life sentence by 11–1, but the judge overrules the jury and sentences Smith to death.
2010-06-10
John Forrest Parker is executed by lethal injection for his role in the murder.
2020-11
Billy Gray Williams dies in prison while serving a life sentence.
2022-11-17
Smith's scheduled execution by lethal injection is called off after the execution team fails to establish IV access before the death warrant expires.
2023-01-12
The Alabama Supreme Court approves amended rules giving corrections personnel additional time to carry out executions.
2023-08-29
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall petitions for a second execution date for Smith, seeking execution by nitrogen hypoxia.
2023-11-08
Governor Kay Ivey sets January 25, 2024, as Smith's execution date, by nitrogen hypoxia.
2024-01-10
A federal judge rules Alabama may proceed with executing Smith using nitrogen gas.
2024-01-24
The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Smith's appeal or grant a stay of execution.
2024-01-25
Kenneth Eugene Smith is executed by nitrogen hypoxia in Alabama, the first such execution in the world.
2024-09-26
Alan Eugene Miller becomes the second person executed by nitrogen gas in Alabama.
2024-11-21
Carey Dale Grayson becomes the third person executed by nitrogen gas in Alabama.
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People
Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett
VICTIM45-year-old victim beaten and fatally stabbed at her home in Colbert County, Alabama, on March 18, 1988.
John Forrest Parker
CONVICTEDConvicted of the murder of Elizabeth Sennett; sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on June 10, 2010.
John Q. Hamm
LAW ENFORCEMENTAlabama Corrections commissioner who addressed media regarding Smith's reactions during the execution.
Kenneth Eugene Smith
CONVICTEDConvicted of the 1988 contract killing of Elizabeth Sennett; sentenced to death and executed by nitrogen hypoxia on January 25, 2024.
Billy Gray Williams
CONVICTEDRecruited by Charles Sennett Sr. to arrange the murder; sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and died in prison in November 2020.
Ronnie May
LAW ENFORCEMENTSheriff who was among the first to arrive at the crime scene and rode with Elizabeth Sennett to the hospital.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- Kenneth Eugene Smith, convicted in the 1988 contract killing of Elizabeth Sennett in Colbert County, Alabama, was executed by the state on January 25, 2024, becoming the first person in the world put to death by nitrogen hypoxia.
- Where did the crime happen?
- Colbert County, Alabama, United States.
- Who was convicted?
- John Forrest Parker (Convicted of the murder of Elizabeth Sennett; sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection on June 10, 2010.), Kenneth Eugene Smith (Convicted of the 1988 contract killing of Elizabeth Sennett; sentenced to death and executed by nitrogen hypoxia on January 25, 2024.), and Billy Gray Williams (Recruited by Charles Sennett Sr. to arrange the murder; sentenced to life imprisonment without parole and died in prison in November 2020.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
Related cases
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Sources
- Execution of Kenneth Eugene Smithwikipedia · Wikipedia · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — Associated Pressnews · Associated Press · 2026-07-07
- Contemporaneous coverage — The Independentnews · The Independent · 2026-07-07
Last verified JUL 2026