Alabama, unless stopped by the courts, intends to strap Kenneth Eugene Smith to a gurney Thursday and use a gas mask to replace breathable air with nitrogen, depriving him of oxygen, in the nation’s first execution attempt with the method.
The Alabama attorney general’s office told federal appeals court judges last week that nitrogen hypoxia is “the most painless and humane method of execution known to man.” But what exactly Smith, 58, will feel after the warden switches on the gas is unknown, some doctors and critics say.
“What effect the condemned person will feel from the nitrogen gas itself, no one knows,” Dr. Jeffrey Keller, president of the American College of Correctional Physicians, wrote in an email. “This has never been done before. It is an experimental procedure.”
Keller, who was not involved in developing the Alabama protocol, said the plan is to “eliminate all of the oxygen from the air” that Smith is breathing by replacing it with nitrogen.
Yeah, it’s really similar to carbon monoxide poisoning. It’s not like suffocating because our bodies specifically react to the buildup of CO2, which triggers that pain and fear response. CO poisoning is incredibly dangerous because it’s so imperceptible and effective. When given the choice between O2 and CO our bodies will actually choose the latter because it bonds better to hemoglobin.
If ever there was a painless way to die, this is it.
My uneducated self was wondering how suffocation could be considered “humane”, but now I see that’s not what is happening. Thanks to your post, I have a better understanding of the process. I’m still against the death penalty, but I appreciate the info nonetheless. Thanks!