On Jan. 25, the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) plans to execute Kenneth Smith by forcing him to breathe pure nitrogen gas, an untested execution method with profound legal and ethical conseq...
You’re forgetting that this person is going to die by the State’s hand regardless of the method. Given that, how is nitrogen asphyxiation more cruel than lethal injection?
I’m not condoning the death penalty, just confused why someone would say nitrogen asphyxiation is cruel and unusual when in another context it’s desirable.
In one situation: A person that wants to die chooses to do so.
In the other: A person that wants to live is tied down, with a mask over their face, possibly holding their breath until they can’t take any more, knowing that they will die shortly after their next breath.
I can hold my breath for about two minutes, maybe more if it I knew it was my last breath. I don’t know if I could make myself breathe if I knew it would kill me. That sounds like an absolutely terrifying way to go.
You’re forgetting that this person is going to die by the State’s hand regardless of the method. Given that, how is nitrogen asphyxiation more cruel than lethal injection?
I’m not condoning the death penalty, just confused why someone would say nitrogen asphyxiation is cruel and unusual when in another context it’s desirable.
I’m not forgetting that, not really. I was just breaking down the comparison between assisted suicide and the death penalty.
I’m against the death penalty but if we are going down that route nitrogen hypoxia seems the sanest and safest way to me.
In one situation: A person that wants to die chooses to do so.
In the other: A person that wants to live is tied down, with a mask over their face, possibly holding their breath until they can’t take any more, knowing that they will die shortly after their next breath.
I can hold my breath for about two minutes, maybe more if it I knew it was my last breath. I don’t know if I could make myself breathe if I knew it would kill me. That sounds like an absolutely terrifying way to go.