nitrogen hypoxia

17 Stories

Alabama Carries Out Its 5th Nitrogen Gas Execution

Gregory Hunt put to death for woman's 1988 murder

(Newser) - An Alabama man convicted of killing a woman in 1988 was put to death Tuesday evening in the nation's sixth execution by nitrogen gas, the AP reports. Gregory Hunt, 65, was pronounced dead at 6:26pm at a south Alabama prison, authorities said, one of four executions scheduled this...

Louisiana Carries Out First Execution With Nitrogen Gas

Jessie Hoffman Jr. is first person state has executed in 15 years

(Newser) - Louisiana used nitrogen gas to put a man to death Tuesday evening for a killing decades ago, marking the first time the state has used the method as it resumed executions after a 15-year hiatus. Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, was pronounced dead at 6:50pm at the Louisiana State Penitentiary,...

Alabama Carries Out Nation's 4th Nitrogen Gas Execution

Man was also convicted of a murder in Michigan

(Newser) - An Alabama man convicted of murdering a woman after breaking into her apartment as she slept was put to death Thursday evening in the nation's fourth execution using nitrogen gas, the AP reports. Demetrius Frazier, 52, was pronounced dead at 6:36pm at a south Alabama prison for his...

Inmate Asks Court to Block Nitrogen Gas Execution

Demetrius Frazier's lawyers want Alabama to change protocol for this form of capital punishment

(Newser) - Attorneys for an Alabama inmate scheduled to be the fourth person put to death with nitrogen gas asked a federal judge on Wednesday to block the execution, arguing the first three inmates showed signs of suffering from suffocation as the gas flowed. Demetrius Terrence Frazier, 52, is scheduled to be...

Alabama Prisoner Curses, Gives Middle Finger Before Execution

Carey Dale Grayson became the 3rd person put to death in the US using nitrogen gas

(Newser) - An Alabama man convicted in the 1994 killing of a hitchhiker cursed at the prison warden and made obscene gestures with his hands shortly before he was put to death Thursday evening in the nation's third execution using nitrogen gas, the AP reports. Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was executed...

The State Said Miller's Death Was Humane. I Watched It

Lauren Gill describes jerking, shaking during Alabama execution

(Newser) - The state of Alabama executed Alan Miller using nitrogen gas on Sept. 26. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement afterward that the execution "progressed as planned," with Miller making "slight movements associated with the dying process. ... the State proved once again that nitrogen hypoxia...

Arrests Follow First Death in Swiss Suicide Pod

US woman used Sarco device to deliver a fatal dose of nitrogen gas on Monday in Switzerland

(Newser) - Several people have been taken into custody in Switzerland following the first use of an assisted suicide device that delivers a fatal dose of nitrogen gas at the touch of a button. The $1 million Sarco capsule developed by Netherlands-based assisted suicide group Exit International features a sealed chamber in...

Alabama Sets Date for 2nd Execution by Nitrogen Gas

Alan Eugene Miller is suing to block the execution, now scheduled for September

(Newser) - Alabama death row inmate Alan Eugene Miller is now scheduled to become the second person in the US executed by nitrogen gas, reports CBS News . Gov. Kay Ivey set the date for Sept. 26, per the AP . The governor's action comes a week after the Alabama Supreme Court authorized...

A New State Considers Controversial Execution Method

Ohio could join Alabama, which was the first to use nitrogen method

(Newser) - Another state could soon join Alabama in using a controversial new execution method. Ohio, where executions have been paused since 2018 due to problems obtaining lethal injection drugs, is considering the use of nitrogen gas executions, USA Today reports. Two Republican state representatives have introduced legislation that would allow death...

Horror Screenwriter Dreamed Up Untried Execution Method
Horror Screenwriter Dreamed
Up Untried Execution Method
the rundown
Jan 25, 2024 11:38 AM CST

Horror Screenwriter Dreamed Up Untried Execution Method

Nitrogen hypoxia to be tested in US first despite claims of cruelty

(Newser) - The US could see its first execution with nitrogen gas Thursday after the Supreme Court and 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals both declined a request for a stay Wednesday. The Supreme Court didn't comment, while the Court of Appeals said Kenneth Smith, convicted in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying...

Inmate's Spiritual Adviser: Protection Needed for Nitrogen Execution

Nitrogen gas could present a problem in the case of a leak

(Newser) - The spiritual adviser for an Alabama prisoner set to be the first person executed with nitrogen gas has asked the state prison system to provide additional precautions to ensure the safety of bystanders and witnesses at the execution, the AP reports. The Rev. Jeff Hood, who will stand near Kenneth...

US' First Nitrogen Execution Can Go Forward: Judge

Kenneth Eugene Smith's attorneys say they will appeal

(Newser) - Alabama will be allowed to put an inmate to death with nitrogen gas later this month, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, clearing the way for what would be the nation's first execution under a new method the inmate's lawyers criticize as cruel and experimental, the AP reports. US...

UN Experts Call to Stop Alabama Inmate's Execution

Independent monitors with group are 'alarmed' nitrogen gas will be used to execute Kenneth Smith

(Newser) - An Alabama inmate's scheduled execution by nitrogen gas later this month, which would be the first-ever execution by this method in the US, is now receiving pushback from the United Nations. The Guardian reports that four independent UN monitors have issued a joint statement on the plan for Jan....

Death Row Inmate Doesn't Want to Be 'Test Subject'
Alabama's Top Court
OKs New Execution Method
UPDATED
Nov 2, 2023 7:24 AM CDT

Alabama's Top Court OKs New Execution Method

Decision clears the way for state to execute Kenneth Smith with nitrogen gas

(Newser) - A divided Alabama Supreme Court said the state can execute an inmate with nitrogen gas, a method that has not previously been used to carry out a death sentence in the US. The all-Republican court in a 6-2 decision Wednesday granted the state attorney general's request for an execution...

Alabama Wants to Be First With a Nitrogen Execution

State seeks permission to use the method critics call experimental

(Newser) - Alabama is seeking to become the first state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe pure nitrogen. The Alabama attorney general's office has asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date for death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, per the AP . The court filing indicated...

'Execution Survivor' Won't Be Subjected to Lethal Injection Again

Any future effort to execute Alan Eugene Miller will be done by nitrogen hypoxia

(Newser) - Alabama won't seek another lethal injection date for an inmate whose Sept. 22 execution had been halted because of problems establishing an intravenous line, according to the terms of a settlement agreement approved by US District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. on Tuesday. The state agreed to never use...

Alabama Is Prepping an Untested Execution Method

Method has never been used for execution, but Alabama says it could soon be ready to try it

(Newser) - Alabama says it’s preparing an untried execution method: nitrogen hypoxia. According to NPR, the method involves inert gas asphyxiation, whereby the level of nitrogen—which typically makes up about 78% of the air we breathe—is fatally raised to 100%. There’s no question hypoxia can lead to death,...

17 Stories
Most Read on Newser