Louisiana is set to resume executions after a 15-year pause, utilizing the controversial method of nitrogen hypoxia. The state’s updated execution protocol was released on Monday by the office of Governor Jeff Landry, signaling a renewed commitment to carrying out death sentences.
This move comes after Louisiana lawmakers authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method last year, following in the footsteps of Alabama, which introduced the method in 2024. Nitrogen hypoxia involves replacing oxygen with nitrogen gas, leading to death by suffocation. However, the method is largely untested and has raised concerns about potential suffering.
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“The time for broken promises has ended; we will carry out these sentences and justice will be dispensed,” Landry said in a statement. “I expect our DA’s to finalize these cases and the courts to move swiftly to bring justice to the crime victims who have waited for too long.”
Louisiana has 63 people currently on death row. While lethal injection remains the primary execution method, the state also allows for electrocution and now nitrogen hypoxia as alternatives.
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The decision to resume executions and utilize nitrogen hypoxia has drawn criticism from opponents of the death penalty and those concerned about the ethical implications of this relatively untested method. The execution of Kenny Smith in Alabama last year, which utilized nitrogen hypoxia, was surrounded by controversy and allegations of potential suffering.
The summary of Louisiana’s nitrogen hypoxia protocol provides limited details, stating only that a mask will be placed on the inmate’s face and oxygen will be replaced with nitrogen gas until death is confirmed by the coroner.
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