No way we can know, but knowing what we do about hypoxia and death by nitrogen, this guy’s antics don’t fit.
I think it’s a good possibility he threw a fit to make it look bad because he was so against it. “I’ll throw a fit and they will never know I’m doing this - this is my final act I can do to protest the procedure. So I’ll give it all I can to look bad.”
He succeeded.
And no one knows what really happened.
Could be the ultimate lie.......on his way out......
I work in construction safety...even worked in industrial plants for a few years. We discuss nitrogen safety as it is used as a purging gas in pipelines, tanks, etc...
There have been accidental deaths attributed to Nitrogen seeping into confined spaces. The people simply fell asleep, never to wake. They did not convulse, thrash, gag, or anything else. They were working and then simply dropped. And if they were not extracted in SECONDS, they probably died!
About two full breaths of nitrogen will result in unconsciousness - so any thrashing, etc...was not “painful”...the guy was completely unaware of the events after those first couple of breaths - PERIOD!!
Yep, he clearly played it up as his last act of defiance. He held his breath for as long as he could and did lots of thrashing around to create maximum ghastliness. I wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to get some air past the seal of the facemask with all his contortions. It’s incredible that the Alabama prison officials didn’t foresee what he’d do. They seem to have designed the procedure for a compliant participant which is the opposite of what he was. Just incredible ineptitude on their part IMO.
They could have gassed him with air, and his antics would have been revealed as faked.
Oh, it was a technician’s mistake, they turned the wrong valve (DIE employee).
And if he thrashed enough, he might have offed himself anyway.