Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said Tuesday he is confident in the state’s current lethal injection protocols and has no plans to endorse a switch to nitrogen gas, even as several states are mulling following Alabama’s lead in using nitrogen gas to execute death row inmates. Stitt said he visited the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester in 2020 after the state revamped its lethal injection protocols following a series of problematic executions and he is confident in the way lethal injections are being carried out.
Experts on capital punishment say Alabama s first-ever use of nitrogen gas to execute a man could could gain traction among other states and change how the death penalty is carried out in the United States. Kenneth Eugene Smith was declared dead Thursday after being outfitted with a mask that forced him to breathe pure nitrogen, depriving him of oxygen. Two other states — Oklahoma and Mississippi — already have authorized the use of nitrogen and other death penalty states are considering it. Prison officials in Oklahoma say they ve traveled to Alabama and plan to carefully study how Thursday s execution was carried out. Many states in recent years have had problems carrying out lethal injection or obtaining the necessary drugs.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt says he is confident in the state s lethal injection protocols and has no plans to endorse a switch to nitrogen as a method of execution. Stitt
Experts on capital punishment say Alabama s first-ever use of nitrogen gas to execute a man could could gain traction among other states and change how the death penalty is carried out in the United States. Kenneth Eugene Smith was declared dead Thursday after being outfitted with a mask that forced him to breathe pure nitrogen, depriving him of oxygen. Two other states — Oklahoma and Mississippi — already have authorized the use of nitrogen and other death penalty states are considering it. Prison officials in Oklahoma say they ve traveled to Alabama and plan to carefully study how Thursday s execution was carried out. Many states in recent years have had problems carrying out lethal injection or obtaining the necessary drugs.