Three of the biggest suppliers of medical-grade nitrogen in the US have banned its use for executions after Alabama carried out the first execution in the country this year using the gas. The companies—Airgas, Air Products, and Matheson Gas—told The Guardian on Sunday that they had taken steps to make sure their products weren’t linked to the death sentence. “Airgas has not and will not supply nitrogen or other inert gases to induce hypoxia for the purpose of putting people to death,” the 24 branches of the Alabama-based company told the news source. For execution, Matheson Gas said that making nitrogen was “not consistent with our company values.” After Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, was put to death on January 26 in 22 minutes, the roadblock was put in place. A reporter for the Associated Press who saw it said that the killer seemed to “shake and writhe on the gurney” for at least two minutes. Critics are worried about the method that hasn’t been tried before, saying that it’s still not clear if nitrogen hypoxia is a kind, easy, and honorable way to die. The head of the Death Penalty Policy Project, Robert Dunham, told The Guardian, “People have basic human rights even when you are trying to kill them.”
Three Nitrogen Companies Back Away From Death Chambers After First Gas Execution
