EDITORIAL/Means of Execution: Court allows killer avoid injection, opt for gas chamber

Justice has waited 35 years to hold Kenneth Smith accountable for his role in a 1988 Alabama murder-for hire. Condemned killer Smith doesn't like the idea of lethal injection. He believes the pain of the needle is cruel and unusual punishment and wants the gas chamber instead. Alabama allows execution by gas, but doesn't have the protocol in place just yet. Smith sued. A federal appeals court ruled in his favor and stayed his execution. The U.S. Supreme Court vacated the stay. Alabama strapped Smith to a gurney in November...