The US state of Alabama is expected to proceed later this month with the first execution by nitrogen gas asphyxiation.
Kenneth Smith, convicted of a 1988 murder-for-hire conviction, is scheduled to be executed in Alabama on January 25 using the method, in which execution officials will strap a mask to his face connected to a nitrogen cylinder designed to deprive him of death. it of oxygen.
US states have had increasing difficulty obtaining barbiturates, chemical compounds used in lethal injection execution protocols, in part due to a European ban that prevents pharmaceutical companies from selling drugs for use in executions.
As a result, some states sought to revive older methods such as firing squads, while the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma introduced new gas-based protocols.
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UN protests against the method
United Nations experts earlier this month urged U.S. authorities not to go ahead with the planned execution of a detainee for nitrogen hypoxia, saying the method could subject him to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” or even torture.”
“This will be the first attempt at execution by nitrogen hypoxia,” four UN special rapporteurs said in a statement, saying the method could cause “great suffering” and would likely be at odds with the ban on torture and other cruel, inhumane punishments. or degrading.
“We are concerned that nitrogen hypoxia would result in a painful and humiliating death.”
Smith's lawyers said the untested gassing protocol could violate the U.S. Constitution's prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment” and argued that a second attempt to carry it out by any method is unconstitutional.
(Produced by Arlene Eiras, with input from Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber)
Source: CNN Brasil
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