Oklahoma considers using nitrogen gas for executions

In the wake of a horrific botched execution via lethal injection earlier this year, an Oklahoma politician is asking the state to consider a completely new method of killing condemned prisoners: nitrogen gas.

State lawmakers on Tuesday held a hearing to discuss the proposal, first raised by State Rep. Mike Christian (R). The process would involve prisoners being placed in a sealed chamber or donning a gas mask that gradually replaces oxygen with nitrogen, resulting in hypoxia — or oxygen deprivation.

"I think it's groundbreaking, I think it's innovative, I think it's going to be efficient and practical," Christian said. Christian previously proposed bringing back the firing squad, but determined nitrogen would be more humane and foolproof.

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In April, the state executed Clayton Lockett using an untested drug cocktail. Lockett writhed on a gurney for 43 minutes before dying.