Kenneth Smith's Wife Reveals Chaotic Moments Before Failed Execution

Kenneth Smith's wife has described the anxiety-filled hours leading up to Alabama's failed execution of her husband.

Smith, 57, was scheduled to be put to death for a 1988 murder-for-hire killing of a preacher's wife on Thursday evening. But prison officials said they called off his execution after concluding they didn't have enough time to complete the procedure before a midnight deadline.

It was the second time in the past two months that Alabama was unable to kill an inmate and the third since 2018. It was one of three scheduled executions in the U.S. last week that was condemned by death penalty opponents as "botched."

"By divine favor and answer to prayer my husband is alive today as they started the process to take his life," Smith's wife, who asked not to be named, said in an email that was shared with Newsweek.

She added that her husband needs to "heal both physically and mentally from this ordeal as they caused him great physical pain and mental trauma during this process."

Smith's wife said she and other family members had visited him while he was served his "last meal" ahead of the scheduled execution.

"Kenny broke bread with his family and was beaming ear to ear in delight. It was an amazing sight. When our time was done we gave our love knowing that he was at true peace," she said.

As they were leaving, family members were hopeful that Smith's life may be spared, but those who were going to witness the execution were given instructions about the process.

"So we went back to the hotel and waited. Kenny was taken back to the 'death cell'... They gave him the state phone where he was able to stay in contact with me. We were on the phone for a couple hours and then he said he had to go [because] they were getting ready to cuff him," she said.

About 15 minutes later, Smith's wife said they received word that a stay of execution had been issued by the 11th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals. "We figured he was getting taken back to his main cell and we started celebrating, we thought it was done," she said.

But at 10:20 p.m., the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the stay and cleared the way for Smith's execution.

"I have felt no worse agony than that news in my life," she said. "At 10:30 p.m. I received the message, the stay was lifted and they were proceeding with the execution and to expect the pick up call as they pick the 'witnesses' up in a van and take them to the prison.

"We went downstairs to the lobby to wait. We kept waiting for the call and watching the time, we just needed the clock to run out."

Smith's wife said she was then informed by her daughter-in-law that the van that was supposed to take them to the prison was leaving without them, and that she learned that the execution had been called off from a reporter.

"We called the news reporter who has been with our lawyer to find out what was going on and she said that they thought they were calling it off due to time but weren't sure because they didn't even tell his lawyer, they told the news crew and that's how we found out," she said.

"They took Kenny back to the 'death cell' and he was able to call us."

In response to Newsweek's questions, the Alabama Department of Corrections sent a statement that said: "Due to the time constraints resulting from the lateness of the court's proceedings, the execution was called off at approximately 11:20 pm once it was determined that the protocol could not performed before the expiration of the death warrant."

Death penalty opponents said Smith was "stabbed again and again with needles" as prison officials struggled to place an IV line for an hour before his execution was called off.

Smith's wife said her family "will be seeking to fight for the other inmates and family through Kenny's first hand experiences to end this horrible process as this is now the third 'botched' execution in a row" for Alabama.