What happened at the nation's first nitrogen gas execution: An AP eyewitness account
What happened at the nation's first nitrogen gas execution: An AP eyewitness account
Witnesses watched through a window at an Alabama prison as Kenneth Eugene Smith became the nation's first person to be put to death using nitrogen gas.
a backwoods facility completely failed to perform the activity correctly. they tortured this guy to death, either because they are morons, or they are evil. pick one. but it wasnt the methods fault.
There was no way to perform the execution correctly. N2 asphyxiation makes no sense as an execution method -- it will only be painless if the person didn't realize what was about to happen or if they were cooperative. If not, it'll mean the person will fight until death. They will be put in a situation of endlessly expanding pain until they can bear it no more.
The idea that an execution method is humane if it would be painless for a cooperative victim, ignoring the experience that will be had be an uncooperative victim, is just... really dumb. It's incredibly dumb.
Dumb comment. The truth of the matter is, the person will just pass out if done properly. Is it a psychological horror? Sure. But it's not "painful" like death by slow hanging painful.
I'm yet to read the article, but if something went wrong, it was not the method, but the humans executing the method.
My understanding is that the feeling of suffocation is only due to a build up of CO2. So filling a room (or a mask I guess in this case) should not cause that feeling. Existential dread, fear, etc are obviously not affected, but it shouldn't feel like they're being strangled and can't breathe.
You're right though, in that obviously doing something inhumane such as killing people can't be made humane. Its a paradox. And with our system specifically, I don't think there is a way to do the death penalty "right" because the system isn't just. Or even effective and logical.
Explain this then. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59577162
This murder technique is not researched enough and is obviously going off assumptions and not the truth of the matter.
State-sanctioned murder is never ok.
Never? All the executions that happened from the Nuremberg trials were wrong then?
I'm personally not shedding a tear for Quisling, nor would I have shed one if Anders Breivik had shared his fate.
There's nothing described here that is inconsistent with "he held his breath as long as possible".
That is the major flaw with this method of execution. The person can choose to hold their breath and be absolutely miserable for several minutes before they involuntarily breathe in the nitrogen.
Show me an untrained person that can hold their breath “for several minutes”.
I probably could if, y'know, my life depended on it.
Me. It seems to vary a lot, but I managed to get 2 and a half minutes a few months ago. Most of the time I average about a minute though.
Do I count as untrained if it's just my fetish and hobby?
Pretty much everyone can.
Most people stop when it starts to hurt, but it takes several minutes of holding your breath before you pass out.
Please do just like, a hair of research before saying random shit like it's true.
Ok. This is a scenario that, while obvious, didn't think of before. Man, that sucks.
Smith began to shake and writhe violently, in thrashing spasms and seizure-like movements, at about 7:58 p.m. The force of his movements caused the gurney to visibly move at least once. Smith’s arms pulled against the against the straps holding him to the gurney. He lifted his head off the gurney the gurney and then fell back.
Fucking barbaric.
FWIW, this is exactly what lethal injection would look like if we didn't load the condemned up with muscle tranquilizers. Turns out, the body doesn't take kindly to being killed.
What are the chances that the preferred method for assisted suicide in some countries is “cruel and unusual punishment”?
Should we allow the state to kill people? No.
Is this particular method the least cruel/painful? I think that’s likely.
Is this particular method the least cruel/painful? I think that’s likely.
This method can be the "least cruel". The coverage on this story kind of sucks. Apparently they didn't allow for a way for CO2 to escape this he felt the sensation of suffocating as it happened. Had they done that or just flooded the whole room with nitrogen then it would be the "least cruel" method of execution.
I put "least cruel" in quotes because on this issue we tend to mash cruelty in with messiness even though they have nothing to do with each other. Shotgun to the upper brain stem (or something like it ) is probably the truly least cruel method. No time for suffering, consciousness just ends.
We could also just not do capital punishment but that's not happening so here we are.
Where is it a preferred method? I think it's approved in one country but is it actually preferred or recommended by doctors anywhere?
Obligatory:
The False Evolution of Execution Methods
Edit: wtf…..
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, however, characterized it on Friday as a “textbook” execution.
The textbook requires cruelty.
"Humane" execution isn't good, not only because execution is bad, and the pretense of a more humane method is just sugar coating, but also like 95% of people in support of death penalty just want to see a human being killed, with almost all of them are angry at how it's doesn't involve torture. The worst of this kind legit fantasize about murdering PoC kids as bloodsport, under the pretense of "upholding the law".
At least they can just suck all the nitrogen back out of him if they find that there was a miscarriage of justice later on.
For fuck’s sake. Are you telling me Americans, of all people Americans, are now too stupid to kill?
What’s with these crazy new execution methods? Just shoot the guy. It’s not like you didn’t have a hundred thousand cops trained to kill on sight.
Abolish capital punishment.
They're not accustomed to shooting actual criminals.
Any state that allows this should force the governor to carry out the execution personally
Because we’re uncomfortable with calmly and premeditatedly shooting someone. Capital punishment isn’t wildly popular here, it’s still controversial
Just gonna leave this here.
So the guy was guilty perhaps but we have to realize that what was done was a recreation of the Nazi extermination final solution. I fear this. It didn't work as smoothly as they planned but it sort of worked. So will that mean that we will slowly accept this as normal vs banning the practice altogether?
Jesus, stop all this ridiculous nonsense. The Acting AG at the execution said it went "textbook," the execution began at 8:00am and ended at 8:15 am and went exactly as it was supposed to go. There was nothing "experimental" or "cruel" about it. It was a lot more humane that lethal injection and lot more humane than a firing squad.
The man who was executed was the one who DEMANDED to be executed by nitrogen gas, it was his final wish, nobody forced it on him. No execution is ever going to be nice and pretty to look at. Shooting the guy would not exactly be a wonderful thing to behold.
The man who was executed was the one who DEMANDED to be executed by nitrogen gas, it was his final wish.
Source on this? I can't find anything about that. I did find this.
Smith’s 1989 conviction was overturned, but he was convicted again in 1996. The jury recommended a life sentence by 11-1, but a judge overrode that and sentenced him to death. Alabama no longer allows a judge to override a jury’s death penalty decision.
In the wake of Smith’s failed execution, he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and is being prescribed a cocktail of medications including drugs to control migraines. His prison psychiatrist has recorded that he is suffering from insomnia, anxiety and depression – symptoms often associated with severe trauma.
“I am not ready for that. Not in no kind of way. I’m just not ready, brother,” he said.
That alone is enough for me to question the states ability to administer justice. Whoever told you he requested it is a liar and likely trying to manipulate you; or is just stupid.
https://apnews.com/article/nitrogen-execution-death-penalty-alabama-699896815486f019f804a8afb7032900
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/21/kenneth-smith-alabama-execution-nitrogen-gas
Please tell me you're kidding. You obviously don't read the newspapers. It was in all of the Tribune papers and USA TODAY - this man ASKED to be executed by nitrogen gas.
You're failure to keep up on the news is not proof that what I'm saying isn't right. Sheesh!!
The state has supreme ability to administer justice and in every case should be doing so. YOU are an asshole and an idiot and a liar because you hate the fact that I've cornered you on this.
So go suck a lemon and continue to parade your ignorance around online for all to see ya dumb fuckhead.
It's funny how in another thread you talk about how you are against killing other humans and here you're defending how the government is killing humans.
It's kinda sad that this is how you spend your free time badgering people because you have no other life. But hey, who am I to judge. You do you.
How it looks to onlookers should in no way factor in to deciding what method you use.
The onlookers don't have to be there. They have a choice.
That's very true. And there is no manner of execution that's going to look good to onlookers no matter what the situation. From what I've read about lethal injection, it's just as awful to witness.
No one is claiming there's a very humane way to do this. But I still believe in capital punishment for the crime of murder. In some ways it's a much kinder outcome for the murderer than keeping him in a prison cell for the rest of his life.
Did you ever think that maybe we just shouldn't execute people?
That's an entirely different discussion
It's like you didn't even read my posting at all. Didn't I just state that I believe in capitol punishment, or do I have to spell it out more clearly? Of course we MUST execute people when they have committed a horrible crime. There is no rehabilitation of these cretins.
Not only should we do it, we MUST do it. The trouble isn't that we execute people, it's that we don't do it often enough.
Don't get me wrong, I'm as liberal and leftist as could be - i make Richard Simmons look positively straight by comparison - but I'm very much in favor of extreme criminal punishment. Crime is not something any society can sustain or survive.
He held his breath as long as possible. Read what happens when you do that.
https://www.healthline.com/health/holding-your-breath
There was nothing wrong with the method, this guy chose to suffer. As soon as he started breathing the nitrogen it was done.
How did his victim feel when he murdered her? If this monster suffered for a few minutes, so be it.
The number of people who have been released after decades in prison after modern forensic techniques (e.g. DNA analysis) have proven the convicted person was innocent shows why execution should never be used. Better that a guilty person spend a life in jail instead of be executed than an innocent person be executed by mistake.
This case was even better. The sentencing jury voted to give him life without parole. The state appealed that and a judge overturned the life sentence to give him a death sentence.
Why do we even have a jury?
Violence begets more violence. Every time. Killing this person does nothing to bring back the woman they killed, and just pisses off even more people.
For the guy you replied, to the violence isn't a side effect, it's the goal. The cruelty is the point.
And in that case, why even pretend? This entire execution method was conceived as a way to be "more humane". It wouldn't exist if not for that objective. And if we don't care about the cruelty, just use hanging or firing squad.
That's your opinion. I would hazard a guess that more people support the execution of violent murderers than oppose it.
So, are we to be his equal? A society that feels comfortable killing its fellow human beings painfully. Or do we aspire to be better. To not seek revenge but merely to minimize harm done.
And does the 8th amendment matter anymore? Does it still stand? Cruelty as we execute surely must violate it.
That's just your emotional side talking. Who knew you were so sensitive.