Alan Miller shook and trembled on gurney after becoming second person to be executed by controversial technique
Alabama has carried out the second execution in the US using the controversial method of nitrogen gas, an experimental technique for humans that veterinarians have deemed unacceptable in the US and Europe for the euthanasia of most animals.
Alan Eugene Miller, 59, was pronounced dead on Thursday evening at a south Alabama prison. The lethal method involves being strapped to a gurney, where a respirator mask is applied to the face and pure nitrogen piped in. The resulting oxygen deprivation will cause death by asphyxia.
Miller shook and trembled on the gurney for about two minutes with his body at times pulling against the restraints, followed by about six minutes of gasping breathing, according to the Associated Press.
Miller’s death is the latest in an extraordinary week in the US in which five condemned men in five states are set to be killed over six days. Three prisoners have already been executed – on Friday South Carolina killed Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah in its first execution in 13 years, then on Tuesday Texas killed Travis Mullis and Missouri put to death Marcellus Williams.
The way they are doing it is horrifying.
No. Perhaps that they are doing it is horrifying, but the way is very humane. It is literally getting loopy and falling asleep, over a very short time period.
When done correctly, i.e. full immersion with proper removal of CO2, then it is humane. The current technique does not remove CO2 from the mask, meaning the victim chokes to death and knows they are choking the entire time.
So, this is similar to how lethal injection executions were getting botched because all the people who knew how to do it properly refused to on moral and ethical grounds, and the states decided to push ahead anyway?
Pretty much. Also down to money, the proper way requires a full chamber, plus constant monitoring and replacement of all gasses in said chamber – it can’t be done with just a mask or helmet, that means thousands of liters of nitrogen per second to do it properly.
It doesn’t mean thousands of litres per second to do it properly. A mask or helmet could be considered a poor tool for the job, though, because they are easier to fight/struggle with, and the person could hurt themselves in the process of that.
You need the normal level of air replacement for any given volume with a human in it, but you need to be using nitrogen as the source of air replacement. If you want to speed the process up, you could do 1x space volume/minute for a couple minutes, then drop it down to a normal rate of replacement.
Choosing a larger volume will not make it painful, but it will make it slower unless you increase the flow. But slower is not bad, per se, except that since it’s an execution, faster is possibly more merciful (depending on the person’s preference) because the person has less time to sit there and contemplate the fact of their death.
The suicide pods are pretty much the ideal balance of space taken. For an execution, perhaps a small room with a chair, and a somewhat faster nitrogen replacement rate (like, 60 volumes/h for the first two minutes, then 5 volumes/h after that).
We now have 3D printed euthanasia pods for people that elect to do so. First successful case was very recent. I don’t feel that adding some restraints would be a major hurdle.
If the death penalty unfortunately sticks around, this seems like a humane, cheap way to do so.
Then that’s not simply killing him with nitrogen gas. But the better method is:
…that is all. If they’re fucking it up, it’s on them.
…that is all.
But also, even when completely unconscious, complex living things with a central nervous system (including people) tend to flop when they die.
Maybe read what ACTUALLY happens in stead of regurgitating what WOULD happen under ideal circumstances ffs!
Nah. I know what happens. I’ve experienced asphyxia.
Have you experienced being murdered by the government in front of an audience? Using a method that’s humane if (and ONLY if) you’re completely calm and fully cooperative?
The exact circumstances matter.
Yes, precise circumstances matter.
For nitrogen asphyxiation in general, you do not have to be calm and cooperative for it to be painless, any more than you do so to stand in a room or sit in a chair.
As to the specific setup that the government chose, I can’t vouch for that.
That’s what we’re talking about, though! That’s the topic!
If I was to go on and on across several comments about how nitrous oxide is pleasant to inhale and then go “I don’t know about nitrogen asphyxiation, though” at the end, you’d be very annoyed with me and rightly so!
I agree that nitrogen can be used for a peaceful euthanasia. Definitely not the way they are doing it though.
Unless they are pressurizing the space the guy is in, nitrogen will just make you black out, without suffering (other than the human knowledge that you are about to die, but that exists with all methods).
This comment has been reported. After doing more research than I ever wanted to on this topic, I have determined this to not be misinformation.
As to the accuracy of the information, I cannot say, as all the information science has on it is based on accidents. All I can say is there is evidence to say that this comment was made in good faith.
I will not speak on the topic of death sentence.
Since when is 8 minutes of fighting against your restraints and desperately gasping for air “a very short time period?”
Being strangled to death with a piece of rope would take less time than that. A proper chokehold with your bare hands to deny oxygen to the brain would’ve killed him in about a minute.
You have no idea what you are talking about.
With nitrogen, you are literally be breathing out your oxygen. No, a rope is not faster. No, a rope is not more humane.
Except they’re not filtering out the carbon dioxide, so you’re suffocating in a mix of your own exhalation plus the nitrogen.
Maybe read the part where the dude struggled for 8 minutes before he finally died.
But that’s not a problem with nitrogen asphyxiation, that’s stupid human implementation.
And the human implementation is why people have been arguing with you this whole time. Because he wasn’t executed using proper asphyxiation like that suicide pod (not that execution in itself is morally acceptable anyways), they just slapped a mask on him that was hooked up to a tank of nitrogen.
Even the people watching it found it traumatic because he struggled and thrashed pretty much the whole time.
This comment has been reported. After doing more research than I ever wanted to on this topic, I have determined this to not be misinformation.
As to the accuracy of the information, I cannot say, as all the information science has on it is based on accidents. All I can say is there is evidence to say that this comment was made in good faith.
I will not speak on the topic of death sentence.
Yeah if you’re cooperative and able to breathe all the way out then deep breathe those first few breaths it’s actually the ideal way to go. You do also have to not have COPD or chronic bronchitis or another disorder that’s swapped your breathing drive to oxygen deficiency instead of carbon dioxide excess. The rising CO2 / blood acidity from re-breathing the same air you put out is actually what causes the anxiety / panic of suffocation for most otherwise healthy people, not the oxygen drop. So if they were using a nonrebreather mask and doing this as compassionate euthenasia for terminal illness for people able to cooperate it would actually be one of the better methods.