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.

  • kitonthenet
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    -31 year ago

    I wonder if you were in there, would you appreciate the distinction?

    • snooggums
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      61 year ago

      YES.

      The normal gas chamber causes obvious pain and torment as people vomit and writhe in agony. 100% nitrogen puts you to sleep. If I had an incurable disease with a lot of suffering, or sentenced to death from a false conviction, I would absolutely choose 100% nitrogen over any other method of offing myself.

      • kitonthenet
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        -41 year ago

        Well, I hope Alabama getting industrial scale killing capabilities is worth dying on this hill

        • angrystego
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          21 year ago

          Many ways of killing people can be done on big scale. Do you have some specific information about Alabama planning to make it large scale or are you worried because it includes gas?

        • bdesk
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          11 year ago

          “Industrial scale” is something you made up in this conversation. That was not done in good faith. Have a good day.

        • snooggums
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          11 year ago

          What the fuck are you even talking about? Do you think they are going to implement industrial levels of death penalties just because they found a less horrific way to kill people?