Alabama Adopts Nitrogen Hypoxia for Death Penalty Executions

• Alabama to execute Kenneth Smith using nitrogen hypoxia after Supreme Court decline.
• Controversial method involves inhaling lethal nitrogen concentrations, permitted in few states.
• Execution process includes strapping inmate to gurney, administering nitrogen through gas mask, raising risks and human rights concerns.

Alabama is set to carry out its first-ever execution using nitrogen hypoxia as the US Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case of prison inmate Kenneth Smith. The execution is scheduled to take place within a 30-hour window starting Thursday, following a botched lethal injection in November 2022.

Nitrogen hypoxia, a novel execution method, has ignited controversy due to concerns about potential excessive pain or torture. The process involves the condemned individual inhaling lethal concentrations of nitrogen gas, leading to asphyxiation or complete oxygen deprivation.

While lethal gas is broadly authorized for execution in multiple states, only Alabama, Mississippi, and Oklahoma specifically permit nitrogen hypoxia, with Alabama being the sole state to issue a public protocol, albeit redacted.

The execution procedure entails strapping the inmate to a gurney and administering nitrogen through a gas mask, inducing oxygen deprivation that leads to unconsciousness and, ultimately, death. Alabama’s protocol specifies the use of a NIOSH-approved Type-C full facepiece-supplied air respirator, similar to industrial masks providing life-saving oxygen. The gas will be released for a specified duration, linked to physiological indicators.

The controversial nature of this method stems from potential risks associated with nitrogen asphyxiation. The US Chemical Safety Board has highlighted these risks, pointing out that even partial oxygen displacement can result in severe consequences such as impaired respiration, permanent heart damage, nausea, vomiting, and impaired judgment.

Smith’s legal team is vehemently opposed to using him as a “test subject for a lethal experiment.” The UN human rights office has also urged Alabama to halt the execution, citing a lack of scientific evidence to prevent “grave suffering.” International human rights law is invoked, suggesting that nitrogen inhalation as a method could potentially amount to torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

As Alabama moves forward with this unprecedented execution method, the decision raises ethical and human rights concerns, prompting widespread debate on the appropriateness and humanity of nitrogen hypoxia in the context of capital punishment.