I work with Liquid Nitrogen every day on my job, and I have also trained many people over the years, and the first thing we discussis safety.
There are three dangers to Liquid Nitrogen, and everybody worries about the two that will never happen, and they never worry about the real danger.
The first two potential dangers are having your limbs snap off because LN splashed on them, or the the tank will explode. Neither of those things is ever going to happen.
What happens every year, is death from nitrogen asphyxiation. A couple of years ago, 6 workers on a Georgia poultry plant died from a leaky nitrogen pipe. Somebody dies from poorly applied cryotherapy, or poorly maintained equipment every single year. I always have a new, current story to tell in training sessions.
Air contains about 78% nitrogen, and only about 19% oxygen. Otherwise, the entire planetary atmosphere would completely burn up at the first natural lightning strike or spark (nitrogen won’t burn). So we humans evolved over millions of years breathing a high nitrogen atmosphere (part of what characterizes a Class-M planet on Star Trek).
That means that as the nitrogen levels start to rise, and the oxygen levels start to decrease, our bodies easily adjust, and we feel no symptoms like other gaseous poisons like CO² or Carbon Monoxide, which causes nausea, headaches, delusions, confusion, etc. With nitrogen, you get none of that, you just get tired, fall asleep…and die. Its quick, painless, and efficient.
If they are having the problems being reported, then the authorities are doing it wrong. Obviously, using a mask is allowing too much oxygen to leak in. They need a small, airtight chamber. Liquid Nitrogen converts from a liquid to a gas at a rate of about 695:1, which means one ounce of liquid nitrogen evaporates into 695 ounces of gas. It doesn’t take much liquid nitrogen to fill a small chamber with gas, and displace ALL the oxygen. The person will breathe it naturally, and fall asleep. Their vitals can be monitored remotely, and their death confirmed.
There is even a current hit movie (I won’t name the movie since this is a spoiler) in which a character is led into a room, where he sits and relaxes, unaware that the room is filling with gas, which kills him. The film doesn’t say what the gas is, but nitrogen would be the most easily available substance to use.
In the old days, the authorities would be left with a dead inmate and a sealed chamber full of extremely lethal gas, which had to be carefully vented. Today, they’d be left with a sealed chamber of nitrogen, which can easily be vented straight into the high nitrogen atmosphere without danger to anyone else.
Any thrashing around by the inmate is most likely a bit of theater by the inmate, who is not motivated to cooperate, or make things easier on the authorities.
If done properly, which they don’t seem to be doing, execution by nitrogen asphyxiation is painless, efficient, and as humane as an execution can be.
The state should never be entrusted to hold the power to execute those they already hold in custody and have control over.
Warning: The factual and methodical breakdown of how the drugs work and why it’s cruel will stay with you.
EDIT: This is the webpage listed within the episode notes. Perhaps a better option for those without a podcast app.
The reason why these arguments will never work is because the people who support the death penalty believe that it’s a good thing that it’s painful and cruel. It’s part of the point for them.
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Then don’t listen to explicit episodes or download a podcast app of your choice.
Thanks for adding another link :)
US$200
I live in a country where at one point in its time a lot of people were killed at point-blank by hired killers, sometimes for less than a couple hundred for… groceries or motorcycle parts.
Alabama has maintained that any shaking or gasping exhibited by inmates during nitrogen gas executions are largely involuntary actions caused by oxygen deprivation.
Alabama is so fucking stupid. A proper exit bag with inert gas is painless without “involuntary actions”. You’re out like a light. I guess these morons have never heard of maintenance workers dropping into a manhole and instantly passing out due to accumulated H2S: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/OHB/FACE/CDPH Document Library/11CA008.pdf
Even when drowning, your lungs will only spasm a few times and it doesn’t take 15 minutes to die. What a bunch of cruel, stupid fucks. It is obvious the mask doesn’t prevent air (with oxygen) from getting in, so they’re just very slowly asphyxiating people to death
They only have to pretend that they want it to be painless.
The cruelty is the point. Could they do it painlessly? Absolutely. Will they? Hell no.
Exit International uses nitrogen in its Sarco pods for the same reason - it’s intended to be a low-distress method. The sense of suffocation comes from a buildup of carbon dioxide, not from a lack of oxygen. I’m opposed to the death penalty too, but let’s at least keep the physiology straight.
You’re absolutely right and I didn’t make it clear. The reason the bag works is because you exhale before putting it on. The mask likely doesn’t filter the CO2, so the same breath is essentially trapped.
Among the multitude of others reasons I oppose the death penalty, it seems that the state is too fucking incompetent.
32 years ago he murdered someone who owed him $200 for drugs.
I just wanted to spell that out. Every detail is ridiculous. Don’t even get me started on opinions regarding the death penalty. Was he a serial killer? No. Has he been a danger to others in prison all these years? Doubt it. 32 years ago is a long time. Everything is ridiculous.
He lit them on fire.
So is killing someone over $200
I’m not trying to justify the death. I just agree every detail is ridiculous and you skipped that one
Yeah, definitely an ESH situation.
Alabama has maintained that any shaking or gasping exhibited by inmates during nitrogen gas executions are largely involuntary actions caused by oxygen deprivation.Yeah…no one is arguing with you on that Alabama. And the screams are just air escaping.
Tbf I’d scream of someone was killing me whether it was painful or not
so the government of alabama is now a murderer. stay classy, AL.
His last words, after once again proclaiming his innocence were
let’s get it
I have little doubt we will find out that he was an innocent man.
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Oof, censored.
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“You people.” Bit rude, but I’ll engage. You should look into the Innocence Project. Look at some hard information as well.
Is every case mishandled? No. Does our system disproportionately favor type 1 errors (false convictions) over type 2 errors (false exonerations)? Yes.
