Will other states replicate Alabama’s nitrogen execution?

By KIM CHANDLER and SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press Writers

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Experts on capital punishment say Alabama’s first-ever use of nitrogen gas to execute a man could could gain traction among other states and change how the death penalty is carried out in the United States. Kenneth Eugene Smith was declared dead Thursday after being outfitted with a mask that forced him to breathe pure nitrogen, depriving him of oxygen. Two other states — Oklahoma and Mississippi — already have authorized the use of nitrogen and other death penalty states are considering it. Prison officials in Oklahoma say they’ve traveled to Alabama and plan to carefully study how Thursday’s execution was carried out. Many states in recent years have had problems carrying out lethal injection or obtaining the necessary drugs.