In a historic turn of events, the United States witnessed its first death penalty execution using nitrogen gas, sparking a heated debate over the ethics and implications of this unconventional method.
The execution, conducted in Alabama, marks a departure from traditional lethal injection practices, prompting questions about the future of capital punishment in the country.
Alabama’s decision to execute Kenneth Smith, a 58-years-old, convicted murderer and hitman, using nitrogen gas comes from a nationwide struggle to secure the drugs needed for lethal injections.
Dr. Kyle Kreider, political science professor and department chair, explained that the three-drug cocktail that would put people to death in a more “humane fashion” is not doing what we think it does, as there are no outward signs of pain.
“Alabama said, ‘you’re going to deny us the three-drug cocktail, then we’re going to use this nitrogen gas,'” said Kreider. “So that’s how we’re here today, it’s because of the opponents of the death penalty kind of forcing the pharmaceutical companies not to sell it to the states for that purpose.”
The search for alternatives, prompted by difficulties in obtaining conventional lethal injection drugs, has led to the emergence of nitrogen gas as an execution method.
To understand the gravity of this shift in capital punishment, Dr. Paul Riggs, dean of Arts and Sciences, provides a historical perspective.
“Until the twentieth century, hanging was the most common method used to carry out the death penalty,” said Riggs. “Concerns about its supposed painlessness led to a search for new methods, such as electrocution and the gas chamber.”
He also explained that lethal injection was developed in the late 1970s as an alternative to prior methods, and was first used in Texas in 1982.
“In recent years, legal challenges to lethal injection have questioned its painlessness, and drug companies are now refusing to sell these drugs to states for this purpose,” said Riggs. “This has led to proposals and plans, in those states that still have the death penalty, to use older methods (like electrocution or firing squad) or to develop new methods, such as this new asphyxiation by nitrogen gas process.”
There are also legal and ethical considerations that surround the use of nitrogen gas in executions. Dr. Andy Wilczak, associate professor and associate dean of Arts and Sciences emphasizes this.
“There’s a majority of the states that don’t have capital punishment anymore, or have placed an indefinite moratorium on it as they kind of explore it,” said Wilczak.
In the discussion for the potential future of nitrogen gas execution, Dr. Kreider predicts that it will be used more often.
“I think you might see a movement in this direction because it allows them to continue to execute those who have committed rst-degree murder in a way that, at least to one group, is humane,” said Kreider.
Dr. Riggs notes that public sentiment is gradually turning away from capital punishment.
“American public opinion has gradually turned away from capital punishment over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st, though not as decisively as in other western democracies,” said Riggs.
As the debate rages on, with legal, ethical, and cultural considerations being discussed, the future of nitrogen gas as an execution method remains uncertain. The execution in Alabama has not only ignited discussions on the constitutionality of this approach, but also raised broader questions about the role of capital punishment in a changing societal landscape.
Kreider provides a glimpse into the potential widespread adoption of nitrogen gas execution.
“I think you might see a movement in this direction because it allows them to continue to execute those who have committed first-degree murder, but the jury has said it’s worthy of the death penalty, and do it in a way that, at least to one group, is humane,” said Kreider.
Wilczak adds a cautionary note, raising concerns about the lack of testing and transparency regarding the humanity of nitrogen gas execution.
“The reports from the execution said that he seemed like he held his breath for as long as he could and then went into hypoxia,” said Wilczak. “It does not seem like it was this peaceful, just drifting off to sleep kind of thing.”
Riggs explained that our Eighth Amendment, aimed at humane punishment, is at the center of the ongoing debate on whether the new nitrogen gas method qualifies as ‘cruel and unusual.’
ABC News published an article on Jan. 30 that addresses Ohio’s new law regarding nitrogen gas being used as a new execution method.
“Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow execution by nitrogen gas, a controversial practice critics call untested and lacking in evidence that it’s more humane than lethal injection, after Alabama became the first state to execute someone with nitrogen gas,” said Mary Kekatos, ABC News.
Alabama’s utilization of nitrogen hypoxia as a form of execution prompted Ohio state representatives, Phil Plummer and Brian Stewart, to propose legislation allowing executions via nitrogen gas.
“The legislation introduced by Rep. Plummer and I will authorize the state of Ohio to utilize nitrogen hypoxia, in addition to lethal injection, and directed [that] it shall be used in instances where lethal injection is not an available means of carrying out a capital sentence,” said Stewart during a press conference.
While this execution is controversial apart from the execution method, calls have emerged to spare Smith’s life based on the previous failed attempt to put him to death. Bryan Stevensen, founder and director of the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit opposed to excessive criminal punishment that advocates on behalf of death row inmates, emphasized the state’s lack of competence in the execution process.
“Since that time, we’ve been arguing that the state doesn’t have the competency to carry out these executions,” said Stevenson to CNN. “They switched the method, and now they’re saying they have the skill to carry out a method that’s untested and never been used before.”
Wilczak cautions everyone to be mindful of those on death row.
“There are innocent people sitting on death row who might be executed using this apparently very horriffic method. And what does that say about us that we are really just willing to go ahead with this without taking time to stop and consider the morality of what we’re doing rather than just focusing on the politics of this.”