The United States will carry out the first execution of a prisoner using nitrogen

A judge in Alabama has approved the execution of a prisoner using nitrogen gas, marking the first time this method has been used in the United States. Kenneth Smith, who was convicted of contract killing of a woman, is scheduled to be executed on January 25, 2024.

Previously, the man filed a petition for a ban on executing him in this way, but the court rejected it. Nitrogen hypoxia, in which a prisoner inhales nitrogen alone, causes hypoxia and ultimately leads to death.

This method is legal in three US states, but has not yet been used in practice. Proponents of this method claim that it is painless, but its opponents consider it a human experiment.