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October 6, 2018

"Execution by Nitrogen Hypoxia: The Search for Scientific Consensus"

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Kevin Morrow available via SSRN.  Here is its abstract:

With the declining ability to use lethal injection in executions, states are beginning to take serious consideration of using nitrogen gas in capital punishment.  The article first examines the recent shift away from lethal injection and whether nitrogen hypoxia will survive under current legal jurisprudence.  Next, the article identifies human studies on accidental deaths from nitrogen.  Third, the article examines the recent rise in nitrogen use in suicides and by right to die advocates.  Finally, the article compares the use of nitrogen as an execution method with its use as a euthanizing agent in veterinary medicine.

October 6, 2018 at 09:48 AM | Permalink

Comments

I thought this was an effective review on the literature right up until the last paragraph, where the author goes off on a tangent suggests that the firing squad might be better than nitrogen because it is more "purposive," which makes no sense whatsoever.

Posted by: Daniel | Oct 6, 2018 11:51:27 AM

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