‘Human’ or cruel?: He will be the first prisoner to die via nitrogen

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Kenneth Eugene Smith (58) knew he would die on November 17, 2022: The man sentenced to death was tied up on a bench in the American state of Alabama, his executioners tried to stick a needle in his arm and poked around in his arm. his veins.

An employee eventually tried to administer the drug cocktail that would lead to his death through an IV in his neck, but that failed. Smith had to endure the ordeal for four hours. When authorities halted the execution, Smith later trembled, sweated and hyperventilated, the Death Penalty Information Center later reported.

A new implementation date has been set

Now Smith, who was convicted of murder-for-hire in 1988, has been given a new death date: the next execution date is between January 25 and 26, 2024. And what will also be new: Smith will be the first inmate in the prison. USA being executed with nitrogen. Proponents in the US speak of a “humane” way to carry out an execution, because the person sentenced to death quickly falls unconscious.

Does this really mean a painless death? That is completely unclear.

Alabama has redacted the passages in court documents that describe exactly how the procedure will work. It only says this much: the prisoner is believed to inhale pure nitrogen through a mask on his face and die of asphyxiation.

“It’s hard to predict”

Because the human body needs oxygen to survive, unconsciousness is one of the first consequences of oxygen deprivation. But how long it takes is different for each person. According to toxicologist Henning Hintzsche, this would happen “relatively quickly” when pure nitrogen was administered, we are talking about seconds, a maximum of a few minutes, he tells “Spiegel”.

According to Hintzsche, several factors play a role in duration. The person’s body size, energy needs, weight, fat and muscle distribution, among other things – and Smith could be in excruciating pain for minutes. Hintzsche tells Spiegel: “This is a place where pain and suffering can still arise that can hardly be predicted.”

Animals are no longer euthanized with nitrogen

It is also unclear how the authorities in Alabama intend to attach the mask so that it is completely airtight on the face. If she doesn’t, the nervous system could fail slowly and painfully, or worse, the man could survive the attempt and suffer serious brain and organ damage from the lack of oxygen.

The nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative criticizes that Alabama is responsible for a number of “botched and flawed executions and attempted executions” and that “experimenting with a method that has never been used before is a terrible idea.”

By the way, in the US, vets no longer euthanize dogs and cats with nitrogen like they used to. Studies have shown that these methods cause panic, pain and high levels of stress or even seizures before death.

Source: Blick