Oklahoma to use nitrogen gas for executions for a ‘painless death’ – but vets say it’s not fit to euthanise animals as it’s too slow
The US state has not carried out an execution since 2015, after a series of mishaps including a botched lethal injection
THE US state of Oklahoma is set to use nitrogen gas for executions to carry out "painless deaths" - but vets have ruled it inappropriate for animals because it will take too long.
Oklahoma has not carried out an execution since 2015, after a series of mishaps including a botched lethal injection where an inmate was seen writhing in pain.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a statement, the state would use nitrogen hypoxia asphyxiation by breathing in the inert gas as its primary means of execution once a protocol had been finalised for the process.
Nitrogen is an odourless and tasteless gas that makes up around 78 per cent of the air human's inhale.
But if inhaled without oxygen, it can cause death.
Oklahoma is set to become the first US state to use the gas, after manufacturers who oppose capital punishment, refused to supply officials with lethal injection products.
Pharmaceutical companies claimed their products should be used to treat the sick, rather than kill convicts.
Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a capital punishment monitor, said it would be some time before the state could seek a death warrant for an execution using nitrogen.
He said it faced a court order requiring it to wait 150 days until after a use protocol was published and would likely face litigation.
The American Veterinary Medical Association deemed the process inappropriate for euthanizing mammals and said it would take more than seven minutes to bring about the death of a 32kg (70-pound) pig.
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But Hunter cited unnamed studies that said nitrogen hypoxia would lead to death in just a few minutes.
Dale Baich, one of the attorneys for the 20 Oklahoma death row inmates challenging the states method of execution, said the state needed to show what scientific research it had to prove the safety and legality of this new process.
In a statement, Mr Baich said, without complete transparency, there was no assurance that executions will not continue to be problematic.
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