White House Troubled by Alabama's Use of Untested Nitrogen Gas in 'Guinea Pig' Execution
• White House spokesperson expressed concern over Alabama's nitrogen gas execution method, calling it "troubling" • This was the first-ever execution using nitrogen hypoxia • Witnesses said Smith convulsed and shook the gurney for 2 minutes after nitrogen started • Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor dissented, saying Alabama used Smith as a "guinea pig" to test new method • Sotomayor said Alabama has not released full details on the execution protocol