ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s first-ever use of nitrogen gas for an execution could gain traction among other states and change how the death penalty is carried out in the United States, much like lethal injection did more than 40 years ago, according to experts on capital punishment.

The execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith, a 58-year-old who was found guilty of a murder-for-hire in 1988, proceeded according to plan, according to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. Marshall also stated that his office is prepared to assist other states in implementing nitrogen executions, if they so desire.

At a press conference, Marshall declared, “Alabama has achieved it, and now you can too.”

Some correctional officers in different states express a desire to carefully review the procedures used in Alabama and consider implementing them in their own states. Oklahoma and Mississippi have existing legislation allowing for the use of nitrogen gas in executions, and other states like Nebraska have recently proposed similar measures.

Steven Harpe, the director of Oklahoma’s prison system, stated that they intend to use it if it is effective, ethical, and feasible.

After being outfitted with a face mask that forced him to breathe pure nitrogen and deprived him of oxygen, Smith shook and writhed on the gurney for at least two minutes during Thursday night’s execution at an Alabama prison before his breathing stopped and he was declared dead.

During the procedure, Commissioner John Q. Hamm of the Alabama Corrections Department stated that Smith’s trembling was due to involuntary movements and that there was nothing unusual about it.

Hamm stated that the results of nitrogen hypoxia were as predicted and align with our previous observations and research.

Harpe and his top aide, Justin Farris, were responsible for revising Oklahoma’s procedures for administering lethal injections following a failed execution in 2014. They have already made a trip to Alabama to observe the equipment obtained by correctional officials for nitrogen executions and to examine the protocols involved.

“We are interested in evaluating the effectiveness, speed, and efficiency of the system,” Farris stated. “I believe the correctional community is paying close attention to see how it is implemented.”

The United States has a rich past of creating means of carrying out capital punishment that rapidly gain widespread usage. This began with the introduction of electrocution in the 1900s as a replacement for hangings, followed by the gas chamber and ultimately lethal injection, which was invented by an Oklahoma doctor in the 1970s. According to Austin Sarat, a law professor at Amherst College who specializes in botched executions and the death penalty, there is a possibility that nitrogen gas may be the next method to gain popularity.

Sarat stated that this is a continuous part of the ongoing narrative in the US. The US has been searching for a way to execute people since the late 1900s that would be efficient and guarantee safety, dependability, and compassion.

Why are we embarking on this journey? Because we desire to have the death penalty, yet we also want to be able to claim that it is not inhumane.

In 2014, Clayton Lockett’s execution in Oklahoma was botched due to a problem with the intravenous line. This prompted the state to consider using nitrogen gas as an alternative method of execution. Lockett exhibited signs of distress during the procedure and it was stopped after 43 minutes. An investigation later revealed that the IV had become dislodged, causing the lethal chemicals to be injected into his surrounding tissue instead of his bloodstream.

Several states, such as Alabama, have faced difficulties in carrying out lethal injections or acquiring the necessary drugs. This is due to objections from manufacturers, many of whom are located in Europe, who do not want their products to be used for executions. As a result, they have either banned the sale of these drugs to corrections departments or stopped producing them entirely.

According to a recent annual report, although some states continue to carry out executions, there has been a decrease in the use and support of capital punishment over the years. Additionally, a growing number of Americans believe that the death penalty is being unfairly implemented.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C., 29 states have either eliminated the death penalty or put a halt to executions. In 2023, there were only 24 executions carried out in five states in the United States.

According to Sarat, the number of states that have eliminated the death penalty in the past 17 years is higher than any other similar period in American history. This shift is not solely motivated by ethical concerns, but also by the recognition that the current system is flawed.

Former Oklahoma lawmaker and civil rights lawyer, Ryan Kiesel, opposed the state’s attempt to adopt nitrogen gas as a method of execution while serving as director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Oklahoma chapter. He believes that the pursuit of alternative execution methods is a pointless effort by states to make a violent act appear more humane.

According to Kiesel, instead of finding less offensive ways to carry out the death penalty, states should use a method that accurately reflects the violence of execution. If we are unable to accept this method, then it should not be implemented.

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Murphy stated information from Oklahoma City.

Source: wral.com