In his final 32 minutes of life, Kenneth Eugene Smith, executed tonight by the state of Alabama using an untested method of nitrogen gas, thanked those who supported him in his final year on Death Row.

As he breathed his final breaths, witnesses could see him writhing and thrashing for several minutes, his face covered by the mask used to administer the gas.

Before the execution began, Smith had nine visitors, received a tray of breakfast and made one phone call before the process began, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.

He ate a final meal of steak, hashbrowns and eggs.

The curtain over the media witness room peering into the death chamber at Atmore prison opened at 7:53 p.m.

“Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards,” Smith said in his last words, according to media witnesses. “Thank you for supporting me. Love all of you.”

Smith, sentenced to death for the 1988 murder-for-hire of a pastor’s wife, said that he saw humanity “rise up” after he “suffered everything (he) did last year.”

“I’m leaving with love, peace and light,” Smith said.

His wedding ring was visible from where media witnesses sat and his spiritual advisor, the Rev. Hood, continued to bless him throughout the execution.

After the gas began to flow, Smith smiled and nodded toward his family and signed “I love you.”

Witnesses, including AL.com reporter Ivana Hrynkiw, saw Smith struggle as the gas began flowing into the mask that covered his entire face.

Smith was writhing and thrashing between two and four minutes and this was followed by around five minutes of heavy breathing.

At 8:07 p.m., a correctional officer leaned over the gurney and closely examined Smith’s face before walking back to his position against the wall.

The state said Smith was pronounced dead by a physician at 8:25 p.m.

His body was released to the Escambia County Coroner and will undergo a postmortem examination by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.