Reasons Why nitrogen isn't used as a method of execution

Reasons Why nitrogen isn't used as a method of execution

Nitrogen asphyxiation is one of the most benign deaths imaginable. It’s not the nitrogen that kills, but the fact that it replaces oxygen. You die of asphyxiation, but not asphyxiation like when someone pulls a plastic bag over your head. That’s with built-up of CO2 in your system, which is a horrible feeling. No, with nitrogen you exhale all the CO2, so it’s like gently falling asleep.

Nitrogen is not some special drug that needs to be produced by the pharmaceutical industry. On the contrary, it’s readily available in the air we breath. The prison can itself install a small nitrogen production unit, if no gas dealer would want to deliver it.

It can be administered through a face mask without any risk for personnel. If it escapes it just mingles with the air. It is not toxic too people (we breath it all the time). So no need for a gas chamber. Just make sure the room is not too small and is ventilated.

It’s fast. 10–15 minutes max, and guaranteed in complete unconsciousness. It’s fail safe.

So I guess the only reason why it took so long to even consider it in the States is that it’s too gentle and painless to those who are in favor of capital punishment (and thus get to vote for the method). It seems capital punishment is not cruel enough in itself. It still needs to contain (the risk of) gruesome details like the sound of a snapping neck, a person struggling for his life after a botched injection, blood of gun shot, scorched flesh etc. How medieval.

The press would also have less to report on No more botched executions.

Having worked for over 20 plus years in the industrial gas and chemicals industry, I can assure you that “it” (execution using nitrogen displacement of air) would be safe, economical, and very effective. Regardless of what you have read above, it would not require enough pure nitrogen to place anyone (spectators, executioners, or anyone else) in any danger. Nitrogen is already 80% of the air we breathe, so any so called leakage would simply instantly become part of the atmosphere. The chamber necessary for a person to be executed could be relatively small. It would only need to cover their head. One standard sized cylinder of compressed nitrogen is all that would be necessary for an execution. Nitrogen could be introduced via an inlet valve run by a computer program. It would be set to push nitrogen through the inlet valve at around 20 psig. 

A pressure relief valve set at 15 psig would move the air/nitrogen in the small chamber out through a vent to the roof. All very simple and cheap. All kinds of bureaucrats and so called experts would try to overly complicate the process. An emergency room vital systems heart monitor would indicate physical death. The only things preventing the use of nitrogen as an asphyxiant for safe economical capital punishment are all political and ignorance related.

There are probably many contrived reasons for using non-nitrogen methods for execution, just plain ignorance being one! But none undermines the justification for using nitrogen to stun painlessly and then cause brain death. Another possible reason is the conviction by a society that still adopts the death sentence, that the death of an extreme criminal should accompany pain!

Nitrogen gassing is pain-free and fast and technically fairly straight forward. Stunning with CO2 by contrast is painful. A mild dose of pain from CO2 is experienced when drinking a large amount of carbonated drink followed by burping. The head ache accompanying the transfer of CO2 to the brain cells (also achieved by strongly inhaling it) can, in extreme cases, be painful until it is cleared with atmospheric oxygen.

When pigs are stunned with a mixture of CO2 and air, they become stressed from the pain which has an effect on meat quality due to a lowering of glycogen that normally converts to lactic acid in the muscle tissue, both alive and post mortem to generate a lowered pH. Stress produces adrenaline prior to death that rapidly breaks down the glycogen and, thus, the availability of lactic acid from the glycogen post mortem and affects quality and shelf-life

DFD (Dark,firm,dry left), normal and PSE (Pale, soft, and exudative) meat. (Photos courtesy of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations)

While DFD meat is caused by a lack of lactic acid, PSE is caused from high levels of lactic acid while the meat is still warm. This occurs due to short-term stress and agitation of the animals prior to slaughter. The high lactic acid content, denature the proteins causing them to be less soluble. The optimal meat condition is in the centre of the images when the pigs are despatched without exposure to stress.

The terrified screaming of the pigs is also communicated to other pigs that have not entered the oxygen-deficient area. For that reason nitrogen should be considered to achieve stunning for its effect in depriving the brain of essential oxygen and, ultimately, despatching the animals without pain.

Several months after providing above answer Oklahoma State agreed to using nitrogen for executions. Common sense and science prevailed! However, at a later date, the naysayers for execution by anoxia caused a reversal on the decision to use nitrogen on spurious grounds compounded by obfuscation and bad science! Continue reading