Alabama plans to use nitrogen gas for an upcoming execution, marking the first attempt of its kind in the United States due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs.
The inmate set to undergo this method, Kenneth Eugene Smith, lacks details about the protocol, raising concerns.
Smith, who survived a failed execution attempt in 2022, was convicted for a murder-for-hire case. (Trending: Democrat Targets U.S. Troops With New Gun Control Law)
The state’s decision to use an untested method has drawn criticism from experts and raises questions about public confidence.
The process involves placing the inmate on a gurney, using a mask, and administering nitrogen gas for a specific duration.
However, concerns about the gas source, safety, and potential risks have been raised by experts.
Kenneth Eugene Smith said, “As goes Kenny, so goes the rest of my brothers.”
“It’s not a one size fits all,” added the inmate.
Elizabeth Sennett’s son, Michael Sennett, said, “I mean, you can’t really test it on nobody, but I just hope they get it right this time.”
Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham Law School, said, “It’s a slapdash thing.”
“The states are so desperate to keep executing people that they come up with a method and say, ‘this is foolproof,’ and then provide so few details,” she continued.
“All the parts we would need to know most about are redacted,” added Denno.
“Where are they getting the gas?” asks the professor.
“That’s very important. Even if you don’t want to mention the manufacturer, you want to know, as we do with our lethal injection drugs: Is the gas coming from a legitimate source? Is it being delivered to the Department of Corrections or is it being made somewhere?” continued Denno.
The attorney general is determined to proceed with the execution, emphasizing the method’s efficiency and purported painlessness.
Nevertheless, experts caution that any error in the process could have severe consequences, citing previous incidents of nitrogen asphyxiation.
Attorney General Steve Marshall said, “Though the wait has been far too long, I am grateful that our talented capital litigators have nearly gotten this case to the finish line.”
Joel Zivot, a practicing physician in anesthesiology and intensive care medicine at Emory University, said, if “nitrogen is mixed with any amount of oxygen, any amount of air, then it will take longer for the nitrogen to cause death, or it may never cause death.”
“You’re talking about basically death by slow asphyxiation, which the body will interpret as profoundly uncomfortable and frightening,” added the doctor.
“There is no room for error,” he continued.
“The thing about lethal injection is that once the catheter is in and the medication is being injected, there really should be no risk to anybody, any observer or anybody in the room because the chemicals don’t leave the body of the prisoner and touch anyone else,” explained Zivot.
“But of course, gas will go wherever it wants to go, wherever there are places for it to go,” he concluded.
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