Death row inmate's haunting last words before being executed by 'torturous' controversial method

An Alabama man was killed on death row using a rare and controversial method yesterday (Thursday 23 October) - and his final words were chilling.

Anthony Boyd, 54, was convicted of helping to burn a man alive in 1993 over a drug debt and spent decades on death row.

He was sentenced to death for his role in killing Gregory Huguley in Talladega County, who was set alight for failing to pay for $200 worth of cocaine.

Authorities confirmed that he was pronounced dead at 6.33pm at William C Holman Correctional Facility, after being executed via nitrogen gas - a divisive method that was introduced in the state last year.

Boyd has maintained his innocence in the case and used his final words to criticise the criminal justice system, saying: “I didn’t kill anybody. I didn’t participate in killing anybody.

"There can be no justice until we change this system. Let’s get it."

As per The Guardian, nitrogen hypoxia execution kills someone by forcing them to breathe pure nitrogen, depriving them of the oxygen needed to maintain bodily functions.

The harrowing last words of a death row inmate have been revealed (Getty Stock Image)

It's a controversial method and has faced a lot of criticism ever since it was introduced.

It was used for the first time ever when Alabama executed convicted murderer Kenneth Eugene Smith with nitrogen gas in January 2024.

Dr Jeff Keller, President of the American College of Correctional Physicians told the BBC: "It's an experimental procedure. Many things can go wrong."

While another expert, Deborah Denno, a criminologist at Fordham Law School who specialises in research into death penalty methods, told the publication: "These masks don't usually don't fit people. They're not airtight, air can get in."

She added that Smith, the first man to be executed in this manner in the US last year, could have started vomiting or even survived the attempted execution with brain damage.

Witnesses to his death said that it wasn't instant and he inhaled gas for many minutes while thrashing, before he finally died.

This bears a similarity to Boyd's death yesterday, who reportedly ended up suffering the longest nitrogen execution in American history.

He was strapped to a gurney and forced to breathe nitrogen through an industrial mask before being pronounced dead at 6.33pm. It took him at least 15 minutes to die, as per Sky News.

Boyd was executed yesterday using the controversial method (Alabama Department of Correction)

The publication reported that the execution appeared to take longer than previous cases using nitrogen gas.

Nitrogen hypoxia execution is the first new method of death row execution since the lethal injection was introduced back in 1982.

An autopsy conducted by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences found that Smith had blood and fluid in his lungs after his death.

Dr. Brian McAlary, an anaesthesiologist, wrote about the findings and explained that not giving inmates a sedative prior to administering the gas could lead to panic.

“Mr. Smith’s autopsy demonstrates what happens to the body when this panic response occurs. An individual experiencing panic and the sensation of the inability to breathe while also being denied oxygen will experience a constricted airway similar to an upper airway obstruction,” he wrote.

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