TIL, I would have thought (if done correctly) you’d just pass out and then die. Though I guess altitude sickness is pretty unpleasant. Anyway, still opposed to the death penalty — too easy to be wrong, no need for state sanctioned murder in this age, etc.

Those who administered the method, according to Greenberg, described graphic scenes that included seizures, bleeding from the nose and mouth, and other issues as the animal died. Those in attendance of the nation’s first execution by nitrogen hypoxia shared similar disturbing details after attending the execution of Kenneth Smith in Alabama earlier this year, who was the first person to die in the U.S. by administration of gas for execution.

According to Death Penalty Info, wit­ness­es report­ed that Mr. Smith appeared awake for sev­er­al min­utes after the nitro­gen gas began. They observed that he “shook and writhed” for at least four min­utes before breath­ing heav­i­ly for anoth­er few min­utes. “This was the fifth exe­cu­tion that I’ve wit­nessed in Alabama, and I have nev­er seen such a vio­lent reac­tion to an exe­cu­tion,” said media wit­ness Lee Hedgepeth.