A doctor present at a death row execution has revealed some unsettling details about a controversial method that is only allowed in certain states.
The admission comes as inmate Demetrius Terrence Frazier was executed in February using the method.
Frazier was convicted of the 1991 murder of Pauline Brown, who was raped and shot during a break in at her apartment.
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Prior to his execution, Frazier's lawyers were appealing for a judge to block the execution, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Frazier was America's fourth death row inmate to be executed in this manner.
Last year, Kenneth Smith was the first inmate to die by the method, known as nitrogen hypoxia, with the state claiming that it results in a fast and painless death.
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However, there's a great deal of controversy over this, with many professionals disagreeing.
Death via nitrogen forces the inmate to breathe pure nitrogen gas, rather than oxygen.
Why is nitrogen hypoxia so controversial?
Prior to his death, Frazier's attorney argued that previous inmates already executed with this method did not die quickly, but were in fact conscious for several minutes.
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“Something is going wrong. Every inmate who has been executed by nitrogen gas has exhibited signs of consciousness beyond the 40 seconds,” said Spencer Hahn.
An autopsy conducted by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences found that Kenneth Smith had blood and fluid in his lungs after his death.
Dr. Brian McAlary, an anaesthesiologist, wrote about the findings, explaining that not giving inmates a sedative prior to administering the gas could lead to panic.
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“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,” McAlary wrote.
McAlary also witnessed the execution of Carey Dale Grayson - put to death in November last year - claiming he observed 'evidence of distress', noting how Grayson made rapid eye movements, struggled and raised both legs in the air.
“The only lesson from this grim sequence of events is that when states use human beings as guinea pigs for lethal experiments, they are bound to suffer, whether at the point of a needle or behind a mask,” said Matt Wells, deputy director of the human rights group, Reprieve US, following the execution.
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In March this year, Jessie Hoffman Jr became the fifth inmate in the US to die by nitrogen gas.
The Associated Press reported that a witness claimed Hoffman Jr convulsed during the execution, with his lawyers arguing that the method was cruel and unconstitutional.
Where is nitrogen hypoxia currently used as an execution method?
The following US states have authorised the usage of the controversial execution method:
- Louisiana
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
- Arkansas
So far, just Alabama and Louisiana have actually used the method to execute death row inmates.
Lucy Devine