The spiritual adviser for an Alabama prisoner set to be the first person executed with nitrogen gas has asked the state prison system to provide additional precautions to ensure the safety of bystanders and witnesses at the execution, the AP reports. The Rev. Jeff Hood, who will stand near Kenneth Smith during his execution, sent a letter Monday to the Alabama prison system requesting safeguards in case of a nitrogen leak in the execution chamber. The requested safeguards include the presence of oxygen monitors in the death chamber, the availability of supplemental oxygen sources, the presence of ambulances and training on available exit routes.
Smith is scheduled to be put to death on Jan. 25 by nitrogen hypoxia, an execution method authorized in three states but that has never been used to put a person to death. The state plans to place a face mask over Smith's nose and mouth to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen, causing him to die from lack of oxygen. "Nitrogen hypoxia is a novel execution method. Use of this deadly gas, unlike lethal injection, poses a high risk of exposure to all bystanders. As such, its use requires special safeguards to protect all bystanders and observers, including Dr. Hood," the letter sent by Hood's attorney stated.
Nitrogen gas makes up 78% of the air inhaled by humans and is harmless when inhaled with proper levels of oxygen. But nitrogen gas can become quickly deadly when it displaces adequate levels of oxygen. The state has argued that the lack of oxygen will cause Smith to lose consciousness within seconds and die within minutes. However, Smith's attorneys and critics of the proposed new execution method have likened it to human experimentation. The state required Hood to sign a form acknowledging the risks and agreeing to stay 3 feet away from Smith's gas mask. The form stated that in the "highly unlikely event that the hose supplying breathing gas to the mask were to detach, an area of free-flowing nitrogen gas could result, creating a small area of risk (approximately two feet) from the outflow." A federal appeals court on Friday will hear arguments in Smith's request to block the execution.
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