HB-392 would allow inmates to choose between lethal injection and nitrogen hypoxia. In January, Alabama was the first state to use nitrogen gas for an execution.
OHIO, USA —
Ohio legislators held the first hearing last week for a bill that would change Ohio’s options for the death penalty.
House Bill 392, sponsored by State Representatives Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) and Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) would give inmates on death row a choice between lethal injection and nitrogen hypoxia. If lethal drugs are not available, nitrogen gas would be required to be used.
“This would provide a legal means for us to continue to carry out these sentences that unanimous juries have imposed in Ohio,” Stewart said.
“I think from a lot of people’s standpoint, it was an experimental method that went horribly wrong,” State Representative Michele Grim (D-Toledo) said. “It left the inmate convulsing for at least two minutes and he was straining against his restraints.”
Grim …