Alabama is seeking to become the first state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe pure nitrogen.

The Alabama attorney general’s office on Friday asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date for death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58. The court filing indicated Alabama plans to put him to death by nitrogen hypoxia, an execution method that is authorized in three states but has never been used.

Nitrogen hypoxia is caused by forcing the inmate to breathe only nitrogen, depriving them of oxygen and causing them to die. Nitrogen makes up 78% of the air inhaled by humans and is harmless when inhaled with oxygen. While proponents of the new method have theorized it would be painless, opponents have likened it to human experimentation.

  • vithigar@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Because the idea of it being a punishment, rather than remediation or simply mitigation, looms over all North American discussions about sentencing.

    If they aren’t miserable then it’s not a punishment.

    • livus@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      In the case of Propofol they did want to use it but were basically banned by the drug company.

    • ColorcodedResistor@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Which is weird. Them not being in control of their demise and subsequently being locked up and denied freedom is in itself a punishment. Remember the toolbox killers? they died in obscurity in jail. Same with manson and his convicted cronies. they tried to get parole and i can only presume they got laughed at because he died in prison as well. dead is dead. torture takes too much time and only enforces the convicts belief that humanity is awful. if we kill them with time or painless drugs that’s an insult to their nature id think. designer drugs to drop you off the face of this existence sounds pretty scary.

      • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Manson and his cronies did not exactly die in obscurity. They had, and still have, groupies.

    • BrianTheFirst@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      But… the whole reason we are having this discussion is because people are trying to make the process less miserable in their final moments.