Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesHood and a correctional officer will be in the execution chamber when the warden activates the nitrogen gas system from an adjoining room.
Witnesses, including attorneys, media witnesses and witnesses for the victim, will be watching the execution through windows from other adjoining rooms.
Nitrogen gas makes up 78% of the air inhaled by humans and is harmless when inhaled with proper levels of oxygen.
But nitrogen gas can become quickly deadly when it displaces adequate levels of oxygen.
And the experts agree that nitrogen hypoxia is painless because it causes unconsciousness in seconds," the state argued.
Persons:
Jeff Hood, Kenneth Smith, Smith, Hood, “ Smith, Elizabeth Sennett
Organizations:
The Alabama Department of Corrections, Prosecutors, Alabama Department of Corrections
Locations:
MONTGOMERY, Ala, Alabama