Could nitrogen gas executions become the go-to method for states? Some Ohio Republicans think so

Ohio lawmakers are looking to use nitrogen gas executions to end a long-standing pause on executions nearly a week after Alabama used the method on an inmate.

The legislation - introduced by Republican state Reps. Brian Stewart and Phil Plummer and supported by Attorney General Dave Yost – would allow death row inmates to decide in writing if they wish to be executed by lethal injection or nitrogen hypoxia. Executions default to lethal injection if the inmate doesn't make a decision. If the sentence "cannot be executed by lethal injection," then nitrogen gas will be used, according to the bill.

Convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith was executed on Jan. 25 in Alabama – the first time in the nation that an inmate was executed using nitrogen gas.

Gov. Mike DeWine, who co-sponsored Ohio's death penalty law as a state senator, recently told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau he doubted anyone would be executed during his tenure as governor. He said the death penalty − either reinstating it or ending it − wasn't a top priority.

DeWine's press office declined to comment Tuesday.

Ohio has more than 100 people on death row, according to state records, and 30 people with scheduled executions.

“By using nitrogen hypoxia, we are giving the system an additional resource for holding accountable those who have committed heinous crimes," Plummer said in a news release.

No executions in Ohio since 2018

DeWine said in his September 2023 execution delay of Scott Group the state has had ongoing problems with getting pharmaceutical companies to provide lethal injection drugs. There has not been an execution in the state since July 2018, according to the state's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

DeWine told the Associated Press in 2020 lethal injection is no longer an option in the state.

Ohio state Rep. Nickie Antonio, who has introduced legislation to ban the death penalty, criticized the lawmakers' move to amend execution methods and restart executions.

Allison Cohen, executive director of Ohioans to Stop Executions, called the proposal to use nitrogen gas a "distraction." She wants the state to devote resources toward crime prevention, safety and victim resources.

"Ohio should show moral leadership and reject the death penalty outright rather than fall in line with this misguided policy," she said.

Yost previously praised Alabama for its execution on X, formerly Twitter.

"Perhaps nitrogen—widely available and easy to manufacture—can break the impasse of unavailability of drugs for lethal injection," he wrote. "Death row inmates are in greater danger of dying of old age than their sentence."

Alabama executes Kenneth Smith by asphyxia

Smith, 58, was one of two people sentenced to death for the 1988 murder-for-hire plot of a preacher’s wife. He chose nitrogen gas after a previous attempt at a lethal injection failed. He was executed Jan. 25 after a lengthy legal battle.

Smith's execution received international criticism. Experts with the United Nations called the method "inhuman" and "alarming" in a Jan. 3 statement. They said nitrogen hypoxia would cause a painful and humiliating death. The UN reiterated its criticism and called for an end to the death penalty as a whole.

The European Union called it "particularly cruel and unusual punishment" and said the death penalty is a violation of the right to life and ultimate denial of human dignity.

In the face of criticism, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall praised the execution.

"Despite the international effort by activists to undermine and disparage our state's justice system and to deny justice to the victims of heinous murders, our proven method offers a blueprint for other states and a warning to those who would contemplate shedding innocent blood," Marshall said.

Witnesses said Smith shook vigorously and gasped for air as corrections staff administered nitrogen for about 15 minutes.

Marshall said 43 death row inmates have chosen nitrogen gas as their execution method. They chose the method before Smith's execution, he said.

Mississippi and Oklahoma are the only other states to allow nitrogen gas executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

How is nitrogen gas used for executions?

Nitrogen is an organic matter that makes up around 78% of the air humans and animals breathe. It can be found in gas and liquid form, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The gas is safe to breathe unless separated from oxygen, the NIH said on its website. Corrections staff in Alabama administered Smith a lethal amount of the gas designed to deprive him of oxygen, causing him to only breathe a high concentration of nitrogen and leading to a fatal asphyxiation.

Contributing: Christopher Cann, Eric Lagatta, Jeanine Santucci, Thao Nguyen, Marty Roney, Jessie Balmert, USA TODAY NETWORK; Associated Press

Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at knurse@USATODAY.com. Follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @KrystalRNurse.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nitrogen gas executions? Some Ohio Republicans want death penalty plan