Debating Execution: The Nitrogen Gas Controversy

As Alabama prepared to execute death row inmate Anthony Boyd with nitrogen gas, U.S. Supreme Court's liberal justices opposed, citing it as cruel and unusual punishment. Boyd, convicted for a 1993 murder, sought execution by firing squad. Nitrogen asphyxiation, a new method, drew major controversy.

The state of Alabama was poised to carry out the controversial execution of death row inmate Anthony Boyd using nitrogen gas, drawing criticism from U.S. Supreme Court's liberal justices. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, along with Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, penned a fervent dissent calling the method cruel and unusual punishment.

The Supreme Court's conservative majority had denied Boyd's petition to be executed by a firing squad instead, saying the novel nitrogen method was preferable. Boyd, 54, maintained his innocence for the 1993 murder charge. The controversial execution method, already used on six individuals, rekindles debates over the humane limits of capital punishment.

Alabama touts nitrogen asphyxiation as a more straightforward solution compared to drug shortages affecting lethal injections, but execution accounts describe agonizing experiences for the condemned, leading to disputes over the method's ethical implications. This development underscores America's deeply divided stance on capital punishment amid shifting public opinion.

(With inputs from agencies.)