What to know as Alabama prepares for the 1st ever nitrogen gas execution

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

61% : Further research Zivot conducted with NPR found similar results.
54% : in the last decade or so, began experimenting with different drugs with lethal injection not with a lot of science behind it, but using different drugs that they could access.
52% : States and jurisdictions can use a one-, two- or three-drug combination.
45% : Smith was to be executed in November 2022 via lethal injection, but, despite multiple attempts, officials were not able to insert an intravenous line to administer the drugs before the death warrant expired.
45% : Additionally, there have been shortages of the drugs used for lethal injection.
43% : "Nitrogen hypoxia is the method previously requested by the inmate as an alternative to lethal injection," she said.
43% : "In 2016, Zivot was examining autopsy reports of prisoners who were executed via lethal injection and found that the inmates' lungs were twice as heavy as they normally weigh.
42% : However, medical and legal experts told ABC News that nitrogen gas as a method for execution is untested and there's no evidence the method will be any more humane or painless than lethal injection.
42% : They discovered that prisoners who had received lethal injections were suffering from pulmonary edema, which is when fluid builds up in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe.
42% : Kirchmeier also said doctors are not ethically allowed to help with executions including lethal injection or nitrogen gas, so the procedures are not done by doctors with medical expertise.
41% : "It replaced the firing squad, it replaced electrocution, it replaced the gas chamber, it replaced hanging, all these kinds of methods are a lot more visual than lethal injection," he said.
41% : "However, problems have arisen with lethal injections in the form of botched executions.

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