The use of nitrogen gas asphyxiation as a method for carrying out the death penalty is gaining attention in Nebraska. State Senator Loren Lippincott of Central City has introduced a bill that would add this method to the state’s current sole method of execution, lethal injection. Lippincott, a Republican, argues that this method would provide a more humane approach to the death penalty.
The bill proposes using a mask that fits tightly over the nose and mouth of a death row inmate, delivering pure nitrogen to induce hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen to tissue and cells. If passed, Nebraska would become the fourth state, alongside Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi, to adopt this method. However, it’s important to note that nitrogen gas asphyxiation has never been used in the U.S. to carry out an execution.
Alabama is already set to become the first state to execute an inmate using nitrogen gas asphyxiation, with an execution date scheduled for Kenneth Eugene Smith on January 25. However, a federal judge is currently considering a request to block the execution, as Smith’s lawyers argue that this untested method could violate the constitutional provision against cruel and unusual punishment.
Despite the court challenge in Alabama, Lippincott remains confident that death by nitrogen hypoxia would be painless. Drawing from his experience as an Air Force and Delta Airlines pilot, he recalls altitude hypoxia simulation as a painless experience, describing it as a sensation of sleepiness and warmth.
The bill introduced by Lippincott leaves the decision of which method to use up to prison officials. However, it’s still unclear whether the bill has a chance of passing, as it has not been prioritized in the legislative session. Additionally, opposition exists, with Progressive Omaha Senator Megan Hunt offering a tongue-in-cheek amendment that would give state prison officials the power to decide whether death row inmates are executed by lethal injection or a firing squad composed of all members of the Legislature.
Nebraska has a complicated history with the death penalty. The Legislature abolished it in 2015, only to have it reinstated by voters the following year through a ballot initiative supported by Governor Pete Ricketts. Nebraska has rarely carried out executions, with only four people put to death since 1976.
One of the challenges Nebraska faces in carrying out lethal injections is obtaining the necessary drugs, as most manufacturers now refuse to supply them openly. In 2020, Governor Ricketts vetoed a bill that aimed to prohibit the blocking of execution witnesses’ view before the inmate is declared dead. This bill was introduced after the witness viewing curtain was closed for 14 minutes during the 2018 execution of Carey Dean Moore, preventing the media from observing the full process.
Currently, Nebraska has 12 men on death row, but the state lacks the drugs needed to carry out lethal injections. The debate over the death penalty and the methods used continues to evolve, with public opinion increasingly questioning the fairness and administration of capital punishment.
In the context of ongoing discussions about the death penalty in the United States, Nebraska’s consideration of nitrogen gas asphyxiation as a new method adds another layer to the complex debate.
