Posted on 04/20/2015 5:37:18 AM PDT by thackney
Yesterday, Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin signed into law a bill that approves the use of nitrogen gas for executions in the state. The method, which would effectively asphyxiate death row inmates by forcing them to breathe pure nitrogen through a gas mask, is meant to be the primary alternative to lethal injection, The Washington Post reports.
Fallin and other supporters of the procedure say it's pain-free and effective, noting that the nitrogen would render inmates unconscious within ten seconds and kill them in minutes. It's also cheap: state representatives say the method only requires a nitrogen tank and a gas mask, but financial analysts say its impossible to give precise figures, the Post reports.
Oklahoma's primary execution method is still lethal injection, but the state's procedure is currently under review by the Supreme Court. Earlier this week, Tennessee suspended executions statewide following challenges to its own lethal injection protocol.
The new bill accounts for the possibility that, even if lethal injection is ruled constitutional, the drugs necessary to perform the procedure may still be unavailable. Ohio recently suspended all of its 2015 executions while it attempts to restock its supply of lethal injection drugs. Last month, the largest group of pharmacists in the US urged its members to refrain from providing prisons with the chemicals used in lethal injections. If Oklahoma cannot use lethal injection for capital punishment, it will turn to the nitrogen method, followed by the electric chair and finally a firing squad if the previous options fail. There are no previous records of a formal nitrogen gas execution, the Post reports.
Opponents of the nitrogen hypoxia bill say no execution is truly painless, and that this decision was rushed through in an effort to pass a law before the Supreme Court's ruling later this month.
"I think that Oklahoma has acted first and thought second in the manner it’s gone about conducting executions," Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center said. "And the hasty manner in which this bill sped into law reflects the same lack of care with which Oklahoma has managed its execution process historically."
unham told the Post that "the myth [of a] quick, painless and effective" death was once used to champion lethal injection. A botched lethal injection in Oklahoma last April caused an inmate's vein to rupture, which prevented the three-drug cocktail from taking full effect. The nitrogen hypoxia bill will go into effect in November, the Post reports. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections does not yet have a protocol in place for the approved method.
lol yep, about 100 feet
Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation wouldn’t work too well either without sufficient O2 left in the exhaled breath...
***A botched lethal injection in Oklahoma last April caused an inmate’s vein to rupture, which prevented the three-drug cocktail from taking full effect.***
BOTCHED? The murderer died didn’t he! He ONLY kidnapped a woman, shot her, and buried her alive!
Bring back the rope! It has worked for thousands of years!
Why not just pump some carbon monoxide into the lungs.
Thus all the community would take part in the death of the guilty, impressing upon them the gravity of the offence with its communal effects and accountability, and the nature of its penalty in this life, as well as take part in the satisfaction of justice. But which also has a deterrent effect against false testimony, more so than antiseptic execution by the state.
I’ve been using a gas mixture that contains roughly 80% nitrogen; along with other gases in my tires for YEARS!
I’ve gotten over 50,000 miles on most of my tires before they have to be replaced.
I cannot, however, completely give credit to the gaseous mixture INSIDE the tires alone.
I regularly scrub the OUTER surface of the tires with the dangerous liquid mixture: Dihydrogen Monoxide.
I’ve accidently gotten some of this on my exposed skin before; but with a quick rubbing of the affected area with a dry towel; the potential harm has been so minimized that no untoward ill effects have been noted.
(Although I’ve noticed a change in pigmentation after long exposure to ultraviolet/infrared rays.)
Why not START with this!!
Or, better yet; NO2 first.
Then, after a euphoric feeling has taken place; the O2 part can be lessened until only pure N is used.
DUH!
'Financial analysts' could say this about ANYTHING!!!
It would "work," but the person being executed would have strong choking feelings, as the CO2 in their bloodstream built up. Nitrogen asphyxiation doesn't lead to choking feelings. People can die of nitrogen asphyxiation neer realizing that anything's wrong.
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