And it hasn't been tested because researching the "best" method for executing humans is abhorrent and the scientific and medical communities have ethical standards.
But the State of Alabama doesn't, a feature it shares with other regimes responsible for the worst atrocities in history.
The same technique is being studied for assisted suicides where the terminal patient gets to administer or even withdraw it themselves. That is likely to have a better ethical standing since it's about dying with dignity if they can't live with dignity. It's likely to confirm if nitrogen asphyxiation is as painless as they claim.
That aside, some meds say that hypoxia is painless as long as carbon dioxide content in the blood remains low. Even carbon monoxide poisoning victims seem to die in sleep. That sounds way better than any of the other methods of execution. Not that I support the death penalty.
The only thing worth “knowing” about this whole situation is that the death penalty is abhorrent and should have been banned decades ago.
I agree. And even ignoring how abhorrent it is, imagine how much money they've spent trying to kill this guy.
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