MicroWaveAug 26, 2023

Alabama wants to be the 1st state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe only nitrogen

https://lemmy.world/post/3845133

Alabama wants to be the 1st state to execute a prisoner by making him breathe only nitrogen - Lemmy.world

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.

Show threadThatWeirdGuy1001Aug 26, 2023

Serious question. Why don’t we just shoot them? I’m pretty sure bullets are cheaper than any chemical we use and it’s instantly effective. You can’t really mess it up either especially if you built a contraption the make sure the bullet hits the base of the skull.

Or fuck even one of those things they use for cattle. I just don’t understand why we seem to choose expensive options when the cheapest solution is right there.

Show threadbemenakerAug 26, 2023

Nitrogen is pretty cheap, and would be considered way more human. Bullets aren’t an instant death, the cattle thing would be but considered brutal. The classic three drug cocktail was painless but no one will.make it.

Nitrogen makes you feel.like.your drunk, nitrogen narcosis, until you pass out. It is considered painless.

But the real question you should be asking is, why do we even still allow the death penalty. Innocent people have been put to death. Or at least enough doubt that they shouldn’t have been killed.

Show threadtheneverfox

Bullets are as instant death as it gets. For a couple bucks you can headshot someone with a 50 cal, you can vaporize the brain way before neurons can propagate… Literally impossible to feel pain physically

Humane isn’t about the victim though, it’s about the observers. Nitrogen is painless and it’s not until the last moments the victim even notices, but in those last months there might be panic

If you disagree with my point, ask yourself… Heroin or fentanyl OD is probably about the cheapest and most pleasant death, why has it never even been considered?

Aug 28, 2023 at 4:45amWeb
Show threadbemenakerAug 28, 2023
I think fentanyl is a great solution, if you’re going to allow the death penalty, which I’m against. And it’s more than just a bullet. Read the SCOTUS decision that banned firing squads. The cruel and inhuman part isn’t even the pain felt, it’s the terror inflicted waiting for it to happen. Psychologically it is far worse waiting for a gun shot than an injection that will put you to sleep and numb you. Mentally there is a huge difference. It is psychological terror, and therefore cruel and inhuman punishment.