Podcast Summary

Revisionist History: The Alabama Murders – Part 7: The Second Warrant
Host: Malcolm Gladwell (Pushkin Industries)
Date: November 6, 2025
Episode Theme:
The final episode of the series examines the last days of Kenny Smith, whose execution by nitrogen gas – a method never before used in the US – became a historic, controversial, and harrowing event. Gladwell interrogates the bureaucratic "cascade" that led to this moment, raising powerful questions about justice, cruelty, and the true meaning of progress.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Second Execution Warrant (02:03)

• Psychologist Kate Porterfield recounts the impact of Kenny Smith receiving a second death warrant, a year after the failed first execution.
• Smith is abruptly moved from his “house” (prison cell), to “the death chamber cell, which is this totally isolated cell. Very hard.” (02:19, Kate Porterfield)
• Porterfield stresses that returning him to that setting “was gonna just be, you know, catastrophic to his psyche.” (03:19)

2. Legal Challenge: A New, Untested Execution Method (06:47)

• Gladwell introduces the lawsuit against John Q. Ham, Alabama’s Commissioner of Corrections, contesting the use of nitrogen gas for execution.
• Nitrogen hypoxia had never been used in a judicial execution; Smith’s lawyers assert it violates the Eighth Amendment.
• Interview with anesthesiologist Joel Zivitt explains the science of nitrogen gas: “It doesn’t hurt to inhale it… but it doesn’t support the cellular combustion that is required with oxygen… The theory was…it would not be so troubling… But in practice there are complications.” (08:33, Joel Zivitt)
• Risks include:
  • Inhaling some oxygen may lead to a vegetative state, not death.
  • Nausea and vomiting into the mask can cause asphyxiation.

3. Humane? The Animal Studies (11:56)

• Gladwell references a Zurich animal study, where rats euthanized with nitrogen suffered seizures, higher stress, and greater lung damage.
• Gladwell: “They were telling them even the smallest and most despised of animals deserve some degree of consideration. Please don’t use nitrogen. A rat deserves a better way to die.” (13:22)

4. State’s Lack of Preparation and Medical Guidance (16:38)

• Testimony highlights the Alabama DOC’s lack of medical consultation regarding protocols:
  • “Did you consult with any medical personnel about how to lessen that risk? No, sir… Did you talk to any medical personnel about what to do in that situation as it’s happening to prevent asphyxiation? I did not.” (17:54, Exchange between attorney and Ham)
  • Mask selection was based on “Internet research.” The masks are industrial, not medical or execution-specific.

5. Court Hearings: The Absurd and the Absurdly Cruel (22:18)

• Porterfield is questioned if Smith's PTSD and nausea response could cause him to vomit (thereby risking asphyxiation). She testifies, “there is a high likelihood that could happen. Yes, because he’s going to go into a serious state of distress.” (22:37, Porterfield)
• Ultimately, the judge dismisses the risk by ordering Smith not to eat 8 hours before execution.

6. The Execution: Witness Testimonies and Final Moments (24:35–31:32)

• Smith’s final day: Family and witnesses, including his mother and wife, gather at Holman Prison.
• Smith’s last words, according to witness Robert Grass: “Alabama was taking a step backwards that evening… I love you all. I’m going with peace.” (28:38, Robert Grass)
• The promised “painless” execution turns nightmarish:
  • Grass describes witnessing violent seizures, gasping for air, and a struggle that “went on… minutes, not seconds.” (29:50, Grass)
  • Grass: “That was about 18 years of effort that ended up being unsuccessful… The point… was basically to avoid. To prevent that moment.” (31:41)

7. Aftermath: Denial and Trauma (34:17–36:12)

• Commissioner Ham’s press conference brushes off the visible suffering:
  • “So that was all expected. And it’s in the side effects that we’ve seen or researched on nitrogen…” (35:05, Ham)
• The Alabama Attorney General’s office frames the event as a “historic” achievement and “a blueprint for other states.”

8. Reflection and Emotional Closure (38:08–41:47)

• Porterfield reflects on her last letter to Smith: “your spirit is just, you know, irrepressible and your… ability to build relationships behind walls is nothing less than miraculous.” (38:30, Porterfield)
• She describes lighting a candle at home during the execution, her ritual to honor those executed.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kate Porterfield on the cruelty of the process:

  • “This was not a guy who had PTSD before this.” (03:54)
  • “I was asked to testify, would he throw up if they put a mask on his face and tried to kill him? Which, you know, it’s just incredible to be asked that in a court of law.” (22:26)

• Joel Zivitt on nitrogen gas execution science:

  • “You have to participate in your own demise by breathing, okay? So the first thing that you’re going to do is that you hold your breath…” (10:17)
  • “None of which is instantaneous unconsciousness followed by death.” (11:33)

• John Q. Ham’s courtroom exchange:

  • Q: “Did you consult with any medical personnel about how to lessen that risk?”
    Ham: “No, sir.” (18:03)

• Robert Grass describing the execution:

  • “That went on. That was minutes, not seconds, that that appeared to be going on. There was what appeared to be gasping for air after that for again, another period of, you know, minutes, not seconds.” (29:50)

• Gladwell’s closing reflection:

  • “A man has an affair and in his madness sees no alternative but to kill his wife. He recruits two troubled young men who take the fall… the cascade begins in obliviousness, then proceeds from indifference to cruelty and ends in revision when a senior elected official… declares, without irony, Alabama has achieved something historic.” (36:47)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:03: Second execution warrant and psychological cruelty documented by Porterfield
• 06:47: New nitrogen execution method challenged in court
• 10:17: Joel Zivitt’s scientific breakdown of nitrogen asphyxiation
• 16:38–18:55: State officials’ admissions on lack of medical preparation
• 22:18: Court’s focus on vomiting and the absurdity of legal arguments
• 24:35–31:32: Play-by-play of the final hours, emotional witness descriptions
• 35:05: Ham’s post-execution press conference remarks
• 36:12–37:45: Attorney General’s triumphant release vs. Gladwell’s coda
• 38:08: Porterfield’s last communication and ritual of remembrance

Overall Tone and Message

The episode is sober, critical, and deeply human. Gladwell’s measured skepticism and moral inquiry contrast sharply with the bureaucratic and clinical responses of state officials. The speakers’ raw emotion – grief, disbelief, compassion – underscores questions about what justice truly means and why, in the name of fixing suffering, systems so often worsen it.

Summary prepared for listeners seeking full context, emotional nuance, and the critical ethical questions raised in this remarkable series finale.