Lawmakers consider bill to allow nitrogen gas for execution in Oklahoma
Lawmakers in the US state of Oklahoma are considering the use of nitrogen gas to execute death row inmates amid a growing shortage of lethal injection drugs.
The state Senate Judiciary Committee sent a bill to the Senate for approval on Tuesday.
If the measure passes the state Senate, Oklahoma would become the first state to allow the use of nitrogen gas to carry out executions.
Neither the House nor the Senate version of the bill has been publicly discussed.
The use of nitrogen gas causes hypoxia, the gradual lack of oxygen in the blood. When inhaled, it causes the person to black out and eventually die.
Ryan Kiesel, executive director of Oklahoma's American Civil Liberties Union chapter, criticized lawmakers for considering such harsh measure.
"It's a fool's errand to even engage in this utterly bizarre process of searching out new ways to take people's lives against their will," he stated.
No state has ever used nitrogen gas or inert gas hypoxia to execute a death row inmate, according to Amnesty International. There have been no reports of the method being used in other countries.
Lethal injection drugs, the primary method of execution in Oklahoma and other states, caused some tragic events last year in Oklahoma and Arizona.
The US Supreme Court put executions on hold in Oklahoma after Clayton Lockett writhed in agony for 43 minutes after receiving a lethal cocktail used for his execution.
The case prompted the death row inmates in the state to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, challenging the execution procedure.
The tragic end to Lockett's life caused Oklahoma to postpone the execution of a second inmate, Charles Warner, for nine months.
Warner was put to death in mid-January, when the Supreme Court, on a 5-4 vote, failed to halt the execution.
Both death row inmates were African-American.
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