Alabama's upcoming gas execution could harm witnesses and violate religious liberty
Alabama plans to execute a prisoner using nitrogen gas. NPR obtained a Department of Corrections document showing the method may pose risks to others in the room and impede religious liberties.
The state of Alabama plans to execute a prisoner in January using nitrogen hypoxia, a process so novel and untested that state officials required the man's spiritual adviser to sign a waiver that said he could be exposed to the gas. The acknowledgment form, exclusively obtained by NPR, also reveals that the spiritual adviser, Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, is required to stay at least three feet away from the prisoner, which may violate both their religious liberties.
If Alabama proceeds with the execution, it will be the first time any U.S. state uses nitrogen gas to put a prisoner to death, but the second time Alabama attempts to execute Kenneth Smith.
Alabama's first attempt in
