US nitrogen gas execution rekindles capital punishment debate, UN calls it ‘cruel, inhuman’

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nitrogen-filled face mask that deprived him of oxygen. For the first time, a new method has been used to kill a prisoner in the United States which has put the country at the forefront of the debate over capital punishment again. The US officials have been using lethal injection to kill prisoners, a method introduced in 1982.

The state had previously attempted to execute Smith, but the lethal injection was called off at the last minute because authorities couldn't connect an IV line. Smith's supporters expressed alarm at how the execution played out, saying it was the antithesis of the state's promise of a quick and painless death. However, Alabama's attorney general termed the execution a “textbook" during a news conference on Friday.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall extended an offer of help for states considering adopting the method, saying, “As of last night, nitrogen hypoxia as a means of execution is no longer an untested method. It is a proven one." “That was all expected and was in the side effects that we’ve seen or researched on nitrogen hypoxia. Nothing was out of the ordinary from what we were expecting," said Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q.

Hamm as quoted by AP. The White House on Friday said it was "deeply troubled" by the first-ever execution in the United States using nitrogen gas, an untested method that also drew condemnation from the United Nations and European Union. “The use of nitrogen gas -- it is troubling to us.

We are deeply troubled by it," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told media persons. Jean-Pierre, the White House spokeswoman, noted that President Joe Biden suspended federal executions after taking office. "The president has long said, and has had deep, deep,