Oklahoma lawmakers consider nitrogen gas for executions
Lawmakers in Oklahoma are considering legislation that would authorize executions using nitrogen gas if the state’s lethal injection method is struck down.
Some Republican lawmakers are backing the legislation, which would make Oklahoma the first state in the nation to allow nitrogen executions. The Associated Press has a story noted by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and the Sentencing Law and Policy blog.
State Rep. Mike Christian of Oklahoma City explained the benefits to AP. “You wouldn’t need a medical doctor to do it. It’s a lot more practical. It’s efficient,” he said. Christian also said the method is painless because it leads to a gradual loss of oxygen in the blood. Traditional gas chambers use cyanide, he said.
Sentencing Law and Policy links to a May 2014 Slate commentary that claims people who die of nitrogen asphyxiation “usually never know what hit them.” It’s possible that death by nitrogen gas is “mildly euphoric,” the commentary says, citing the experience of deep-sea divers exposed to too much nitrogen. The divers “develop a narcosis, colorfully known as ‘raptures of the deep,’ similar to drunkenness or nitrous oxide inhalation,” according to the article.
Execution by gas chamber is currently allowed in Arizona, California, Missouri and Wyoming, though lethal injection is their preferred method of execution.
Oklahoma’s current lethal injection method, which uses the sedative midazolam, is being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
