While the United States is not entirely alone in its use of the death penalty, it is part of an increasingly small group. Over the past 50 years, more than 85 countries have outlawed the use of capital punishment, citing concerns of unequal application, excessive cruelty, and wrongful conviction (Death Penalty Information Center, n.d.). In line with this trend, 29 states in the US have either abolished their use of the death penalty or have an indefinite pause on executions.
However, several of these remaining 21 states are stubbornly clinging to this outdated method of punishment. Historic methods of execution, such as by hanging, have long been viewed as unacceptable. The electric chair, while somewhat more modern, has also largely been phased out. Its fall in popularity coincided with the advent of lethal injection, which was seen as a more humane method of execution.
The method of execution favored by each state has shifted over time, as new techniques arise and old methods are declared cruel and unusual by state Supreme Courts. Currently, opponents of the death penalty see this as the most viable strategy to finally eradicate the practice: a piecemeal effort of eliminating all potential methods of execution through court decisions.
Although lethal injection has been the primary method of capital punishment used in the US for the past four decades, its future is uncertain. There are traditionally three drugs used for a lethal injection: sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide, and potassium chloride. In 2010, the sole producer of sodium thiopental in the US ceased production (Meisel & Stewart, 2023). The company shifted production to Italy, which banned the exportation of the drug due to concerns about its use in executions. Since then, departments of corrections have had increasingly difficult times acquiring this drug.
Due to these sourcing issues, states have been looking for alternative methods of execution. Some are looking back: in 2021, South Carolina passed a law requiring those sentenced to death to be killed via electric chair or firing squad in the event these drugs were unavailable (Equal Justice Initiative, 2022). Fortunately, this law was made void before it could have an impact, with the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling both methods of execution unconstitutional during a lawsuit filed in response to the law.
Several states, including Arizona and Oklahoma, are attempting to continue the use of lethal injections by trying new combinations of drugs to replace the sodium thiopental that is no longer available (Meisel & Stewart, 2023). However, these new drug cocktails have been partially successful at best. Although they do kill the individual sentenced, they tend to take longer and seem more painful than the traditional mix of drugs, bringing up widespread backlash for their cruelty.
Yet other states are attempting to innovate new methods of execution. The use of nitrogen hypoxia as a method of capital punishment was first approved in Oklahoma in 2015, followed by Mississippi and Alabama (Chandler, 2024). In this method, a mask is strapped over the face of the individual being executed, forcing them to breathe pure nitrogen gas and depriving the body of the oxygen it needs to survive. Similar methods have historically been used to euthanize animals, but are largely avoided today due to the distress it may cause the animal. Although an execution with this method has not yet been attempted, this will soon change. Later this week, on Thursday, January 25th, the state of Alabama hopes to execute Kenneth Smith by nitrogen hypoxia, disregarding the multitude of concerns that come with an untested method of execution.
The outcome of this experiment will impact the future of the death penalty in the US. If it is successful, it will be seen as a viable option by other states and has the potential to replace lethal injection as a primary method of execution. If it goes poorly, these states will remain in the same predicament they are in today, finding all potential methods either impossible or unacceptable.
This poses an uncomfortable question: should one hope for Smith’s death to be quick and painless, knowing it may prolong the long-outdated cruelty of capital punishment’s use in the US? Or do we callously hope he suffers, an unwilling martyr against the death penalty?
Regardless of the answer, the fact that the death penalty needs to be abolished remains true. As states refuse to give up the practice voluntarily, the methods to do so must be taken from them. The strategy of slowly picking off options in different states, one by one, hoping someday all will be eliminated is slow but essential. Simultaneously, the groups to which the death penalty may be given - such as those who committed the crime as a minor, or those with intellectual disabilities - can be shrunk. As states look to find new, novel methods of execution, the rate of adoption of new methods could easily outpace the rate of elimination. Still, new methods like nitrogen hypoxia are particularly “fragile” and without a history proving their efficacy, making them far more vulnerable to attempts to cease their use.
References
Chandler, K. (2024, January 21). Alabama plans to carry out first nitrogen gas
execution. How will it work and what are the risks? AP News.
Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.). Executions Around the World. Death
Penalty Information Center. Retrieved January 22, 2024, from
Death Penalty Information Center. (n.d.). State by State. Death Penalty
Information Center. Retrieved January 22, 2024, from
Equal Justice Initiative. (2022, December 9). South Carolina Court Rules
Electrocution and Firing Squad Are Unconstitutional. Equal Justice Initiative.
Retrieved January 22, 2024, from https://eji.org/news/south-carolina-court-
Meisel, A., & Stewart, M. (2023, October 20). Death row: The secret hunt for lethal
drugs used in US executions. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-
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