On Friday morning, a number of death penalty opponents assembled in the chapel of Quapaw Quarter United Methodist Church to demonstrate to reporters what it’s like to don the mask commonly used for nitrogen gas executions around the nation.
Alongside other activists from the Execution Intervention Project and Death Penalty Action was Rev. Jeff Hood, a priest from St. Oscar Romero Old Catholic Church. They bemoaned the fact that Arkansas is now one of only a few states that permit the use of nitrogen gas to execute death row inmates.
Act 302 was signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in March and became operative on August 5.
With the new law, Arkansas becomes the fifth state to legalize the use of this method of execution, after Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. A respirator mask, similar to those frequently used by firefighters, is fastened to the wearer’s head during a nitrogen gas execution. The theory is that until a person passes away, they will simply breathe in nitrogen through the mask, depriving them of oxygen. Hypoxia is another name for this oxygen shortage. This method’s proponents claim that it is rapid, painless, and effective.
However, opponents of the death penalty contend that this approach causes pain and terror and that the truth is more nuanced than that. The organization wants Sanders to stop using this execution technique.
Mark Barnes remarked, “I implore you [Sanders] to overturn this ruling on the grounds of humanity and your professed faith.” I’m not gullible. I am aware that a large number of death row inmates have committed horrible atrocities. This has nothing to do with their guilt or innocence. Justice is at stake here. Justice is not execution. It’s retaliation. It doesn’t stop or stop violence. It keeps it going.
The United Methodist Church, of which Michael Orr is a member, formally rejects the death sentence.
“When a state starts to take away the gift of life, they will not stop taking away other rights, and that scares me,” Orr added. After considering the various methods, we have decided to execute people in a way that is extremely savage and horrible.
According to Orr, a representative of the Arkansas Department of Corrections presented nitrogen executions as rapid and painless without providing any supporting documentation or studies.
In 2024, the first state to employ nitrogen gas as an execution technique was Alabama.
The United Nations decried Alabama’s 2024 nitrogen execution of Kenneth Smith, citing experts who compared the practice to torture and said there is no evidence that it does not cause severe agony.
Hood has served as a spiritual counselor to a number of death row inmates and has seen numerous state executions. He saw Smith’s execution and recounted the terrifying moment when Smith seized and struck the mask hard as bodily fluids poured out of his face. Hood witnessed Smith’s fear while he was being forcefully suffocated, and this continued for a few minutes. According to Hood, Smith didn’t actually pass away for more than 20 minutes.
According to local activist Ebrahim Abu Nasrah, Jesus was all about forgiveness, love, and compassion, and he would challenge this administration if he were still alive today.
“This is not the right technology to bring in,” Abu Nasrah remarked, referring to Arkansas and the state’s efforts to become more inventive and imaginative. Finding creative and novel ways to try to kill people is not what we should be concentrating on.
An activist who participated in the 50501 demonstrations in Arkansas, Courtney Maxwell, likened the government’s tactics to fascism.
According to Maxwell, fascism thrives on dehumanization. The trend was evident in Mussolini’s Italy, Hitler’s Germany, and Franco’s Spain. People should first be classified as criminals, adversaries, or undesirables. Their rights should then be taken away, and they should be completely excluded from public life. Lastly, take their life away from them. We must keep the historical echo in mind when we hear about nitrogen gas executions in our own day and age.
Hood gave a testimony in the state Capitol to inform lawmakers about the process of nitrogen execution. He stated that it was evident that the majority of parliamentarians were not well-versed in the subject.
As I was telling the anecdote, some committee members started crying. The idea that this was taking place in Arkansas infuriated them, and ten minutes later, they all voted to approve nitrogen hypoxia in Arkansas. According to Hood, it demonstrates that humanity has been removed from the process.
Hood displayed a mask similar to those worn in these executions. According to him, the mask’s silicone straps must be drawn back as far as feasible. According to him, correctional officers restrain an inmate so they can put on the mask.
Can you picture putting this on someone who refuses to wear it and is bouncing their head back and forth?
The purpose of a tight mask seal is to keep oxygen out, which could prolong the suffocation process. Hood claimed that no matter how securely the mask is fastened to a person’s face, oxygen still enters the mask.
He asserted that a pure nitrogen execution does not exist.
Hood claimed that his recollections of witnessing a nitrogen execution plagued him.
We’re not referring to a calm, head-back, dental visit type of situation. “We are discussing torture of the individual, torture of those involved, and torture of those who witness it,” Hood stated.
Abu Nasrah assisted Hood in fastening the mask to his head. Red pressure lines appeared around his face at the borders of the mask, and it was tight around his head. As he attempted to talk, his face rapidly flushed. It was hard to hear him talk. According to Hood, the mask was extremely uncomfortable.
“Obviously, this is not the purpose of this mask,” he remarked. This is a respirator mask. Firefighters frequently use masks similar to this one. However, as a culture, we have a curious way of transforming things that are intended to be beneficial into bad.
Hood pointed out that masks are less expensive than deadly injections.Some stateshavepaid thousands of dollarsforthe lethal drugs used in state executions.Hood said he spent around $400 for the mask.
On Aug. 5, the day Arkansas s new execution law took effect, 10 death row inmatesfiled a lawsuitin Pulaski County Circuit Court challenging the constitutionality of the nitrogen method.
Hood called out the hypocrisy of officials who say they adhere to Christian principles yet support taking the lives of others.
Who would Jesus execute? Hood asked. I mean, my God, to even have to ask that question.
It’s dragon-slaying time!
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