USA - Airgas

USA - Alabama. Airgas refuses to supply nitrogen for executions

January 15, 2023:

Airgas refuses to supply nitrogen for Alabama executions
One of Alabama’s largest suppliers of gas won’t supply nitrogen to the state’s prison system for nitrogen hypoxia executions.
Airgas, which was acquired by French-owned Air Liquide in 2016, is the largest U.S. distribution network in the packaged gas industry. The company has 24 branches in Alabama.
In a statement, an Airgas spokesperson said supplying gas for executions doesn’t fit in with the company’s mission. “Notwithstanding the philosophical and intellectual debate of the death penalty itself, supplying nitrogen for the purpose of human execution is not consistent with our company values.”
Airgas contacted Alabama in December to “reinforce the point and ensure that there was no confusion regarding Airgas’ position,” said the spokesperson.
“Therefore, Airgas has not and will not supply Alabama nitrogen or other inert gases to induce hypoxia for the purpose of human execution. Airgas’ contact with the State of Alabama has acknowledged receipt of our recent communication and confirmed their understanding.”
No state has yet to conduct an execution by nitrogen hypoxia, which would in theory kill a person by forcing them to breathe in nitrogen without any source of oxygen, leading to asphyxiation.
Alabama approved this method of killing death row inmates in 2018, and gave people sitting on Alabama death row a month-long window that summer to decide if they wanted to change their execution method from lethal injection to the untested-method of nitrogen hypoxia.
That process has come under scrutiny in lawsuits, from federal judges and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Alabama spends hundreds of thousands of dollars with Airgas each year.
Airgas, which supplies gases other than nitrogen along with gas equipment, welding products, and safety products, was paid $287,247.92 by the state during fiscal year 2022, according to state records.
Airgas’ stance on Alabama’s desire to implement nitrogen executions comes on the heels of Gov. Kay Ivey’s announcement in November that no executions would happen while an internal review was conducted on the ADOC’s lethal injection protocol.
In Alabama, 4 death row inmates were set to die by lethal injection in 2022; two of them survived after workers at the ADOC couldn’t start an intravenous line for the injections before the death warrants expired at midnight on their respective execution dates.

https://www.al.com/news/2023/01/airgas-refuses-to-supply-nitrogen-for-alabama-executions.html