In a veterinary euthanasia study comparing death from pentobarbital injection to nitrogen gas inhalation, most animals exposed to nitrogen gas developed early convulsions. In a prior physiology experiment exploring human adaptations to hypoxia, healthy volunteers breathing pure nitrogen often experienced seizures within 17-20 seconds.

I’d love to read these studies if available. But the author forgot to reference their sources. So I don’t know what they’re referring to

So, the Swiss suicide pod lets you kill yourself with nitrogen gas, and apparently that’s absolutely fine and painless.

Alabama thinks about using nitrogen gas, and it’s cruel and unusual?

WTF am I missing here? Or is it all just the BS hyperbole of US politics?

Just fucking shoot them, what is with these money wasting assholes?

I’m torn about this. I’m against execution in any event, but the idea that this is somehow worse than other methods is a silly proposition. Good job on the article author for making it sound as awful as possible, but there’s a lot made of small things that are by and large better than other techniques that are considered constitutional. I strongly feel like this is more about preventing this particular execution than making sure the best method possible is used.

And that’s great. This execution should be stopped, but since it’s legal for now it would be a shame for this one case to deny this method to other prisoners who would otherwise be subject to lethal injection or electrocution, both of which are far worse.

“We can’t use nitrogen! Lethal injection and the gas chamber and electric chair are all way worse and more painful, like to the point of excruciating torture, and nitrogen is painless, but I just don’t like nitrogen!”

“We can’t vote for Biden! Look at all the…”

I see a pattern.

(Yes I know Biden’s not “painless,” it’s a flawed analogy a little bit)

If you read this article, start from the halfway point. The first half is absolute fluff.

Arguments against:

• The executed needs to breathe. Author believes this will cause stress as they may attempt to hold their breath.
• An ill fitted mask for nitrogen delivery may be a safety concern for occupants in the same room. Article did not have details on how much nitrogen is delivered or how much would be need to impact a small room.
• if an execution fails, first responders may have difficulty treating the patient due to the prevalence of nitrogen gas.
• When terminated by nitrogen, a study found mice elicit a fear response indicating that more research is needed before using this as an ethical means of terminating mice… or people.

Author also argues that since other states don’t use this method, it shouldn’t be used… which feels more like a chicken and egg problem.

Execution should be completely abolished but if you absolutely must kill someone then Nitrogen is the way to go.

My God this article is full of stupid, awful arguments. Seriously some sort of agenda behind it. I hate the death penalty. However, if they’re going to do it anyway, nitrogen hypoxia is definitely the most humane method.

I am against the death penalty across the board, but this article is bad. It makes a lot of claims about nitrogen asphyxiation without citation, and one thing it does cite contradicts what they write.

There’s tons of hand wringing about how the prisoner would be an active participant in their execution. By breathing. They spend an awful lot of time on this point, and it’s almost silly.

There’s some points about how responders would be able to safely enter the room in case of problems. A portable oxygen source with a mask would do.

And then there’s this huge misrepresentation for the one scientific study they actually cite:

A group of Swiss researchers conducted research in 2019 on the comparative humanity of nitrogen versus carbon dioxide in euthanizing mice. Their conclusion? That nitrogen did produce a fear response, raising questions about its ethical use as a mouse execution method, and that further studies would be required to determine whether nitrogen would be a suitable euthanasia agent for mice.

Here’s the study they cite for it: https://boris.unibe.ch/136198/1/pone.0210818.pdf

Abstract from there: “Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most commonly used gas euthanasia agents in mice, despite reports of aversion and nociception. Inert gases such as nitrogen (N2) may be a via- ble alternative to carbon dioxide. Here we compared behavioural and electrophysiological reactions to CO2 or N2 at either slow fill or rapid fill in C57Bl/6 mice undergoing gas euthana- sia. We found that mice euthanised with CO2 increased locomotor activity compared to baseline, whereas mice exposed to N2 decreased locomotion. Furthermore, mice exposed to CO2 showed significantly more vertical jumps and freezing episodes than mice exposed to N2. We further found that CO2 exposure resulted in increased theta:delta of the EEG, a measure of excitation, whereas the N2 decreased theta:delta. Differences in responses were not oxygen-concentration dependent. Taken together, these results demonstrate that CO2 increases both behavioural and electrophysiological excitation as well as producing a fear response, whereas N2 reduces behavioural activity and central neurological depression and may be less aversive although still produces a fear response. Further studies are required to evaluate N2 as a suitable euthanasia agent for mice.”

The tone is completely different. The study thinks N2 would be a good candidate for euthanasia in mice. They do conclude that there is a fear response, but less so. Far from “raising questions about its ethical use as a mouse execution method”, the authors think it’s worth pursuing as a more humane method.

Again, the death penalty should be abolished. This article is garbage.

I’d like to wonder how Nitrogen Asphyxiation, which I know from my LN2 safety training is extremely dangerous due solely to the fact humans can’t tell it’s happening until they faint and die, can’t be used because it’s inhumane and dangerous, yet lethal injections, electric chairs, and toxic chambers are perfectly fine to use.

I don’t support the death penalty/capital punishment, but if the punishment is the death itself, torturing prisoners is plain unnecessary

There’s nothing cruel about nitrogen hypoxya death, it’s one the most peaceful ways to die actually.