Finally, There s a Humane Method of Execution – WSJ

News articles often describe nitrogen anoxia as unproven as an effective and painless method of execution. In fact, inert-gas anoxia is a well-known cause of death in industrial accidents. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 16 Americans died from 2017-22 in workplace incidents involving nitrogen asphyxiation. In a 2003 safety bulletin, the European Industrial Gas Association warned: Inhalation of an oxygen depleted atmosphere can cause a person to immediately lose consciousness with no warning, such as dizziness, and die from asphyxiation. Tragically, there have been many examples of fellow workers going to the aid of victims and becoming victims themselves because they were not aware of the cause of the initial incident.

Nitrogen anoxia is painless. It requires no drugs, poisons or medical procedures, and its effects are well-understood, consistent and reliable. Its first symptom is loss of consciousness.

The electric chair, the gas chamber and lethal injection were all invented with the goal of making executions more humane by instantly inducing unconsciousness. The hope was that the condemned wouldn t feel pain. But none of those methods reliably cause unconsciousness as an initial effect.

Nitrogen anoxia is different. The urge to breathe that develops when a person holds his breath isn t caused by the depletion of oxygen from the body; rather, it s due to the buildup of carbon dioxide in the bloodstream, which changes the pH balance of the blood. Skin divers have to be careful not to hyperventilate to blow off CO2 and stay under longer: Their blood oxygen may deplete before CO2 buildup prompts them to breathe, causing them to black out before reaching the surface, so that they drown.

When someone breathes pure nitrogen, he exhales carbon dioxide even though he takes in no oxygen. Since CO2 isn t building up in his bloodstream, he never realizes that anything is wrong, nor does he experience any discomfort. When his blood oxygen falls, he loses consciousness as his body attempts to limit oxygen consumption by reducing brain activity. Soon thereafter, all body tissues shut down and start to die for lack of oxygen.

via www.wsj.com

Sounds like progress to me.