I've heard about that. Is nitrogen asphyxiation really better than poisons like Zyklon B?
It all depends on the perspective you want to take.
Inert gas asphyxiation only takes a breath or 2 and its all over. No struggle, no panic, just nighty night, for ever.
Now if you want make a spectacle out of it, well, you can leave it like it is, or bring back “Ol Sparky, or the guillotine, or what ever way you can dream up on how to kill some one.
Nitrogen Asphyxiation is totally painless and very fast. It's even faster if you lower the pressure as well like in a altitude chamber.
I once entered a chamber purged with nitrogen and almost passed out in less than 5 seconds.
lucky for me there was someone alert enough to pull me out.
Of course, nitrogen isn't a poison. It is natural, green, and doesn't cause global warming.
In my opinion, yes. First it is all natural. The atmosphere is already 70% Nitrogen so no environmental concerns. Second, no carbon dioxide builds up in the blood stream so the person does not have the sensation of choking or suffocation. Third, by removing the oxygen (99% nitrogen gas), the condemned just passes out. It happens so quickly that may people have died in industrial accidents due to Nitrogen Asphyxiation and due to their body positions, we know that they did not feel any threat or danger. Fourth, it’s cheap. It is used as an industrial welding shield gas and there are machines that remove oxygen from the air as well.
So:
No bloody mess from bullets or beheading
No pain so no lawyer complaints
Not toxic
Easily obtained and administered.
Procedure to administer would be to strap the condemned down, place on a breathing mask, put on a brain wave detector, flow 1.1 atmospheres of 99% nitrogen, wait for the brain waves to go flat.