Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) rejected concerns that nitrogen gas may not be a humane method of execution after an Alabama death row inmate appeared to suffer during his killing.
The attorney general on Tuesday endorsed a bill that could allow Ohio to execute death row inmates using the method, which hadn't been used in the United States before last week. The state of Alabama killed inmate Kenneth Smith, who appeared to shake and writhe for at least two minutes during his execution.
Yost noted that while he wasn’t a witness at that execution, he wasn’t surprised to learn of Smith’s reactions, downplaying concerns about how he died:
“Look, in the run-up to that execution, the inmate had made it very clear that he didn't want to die by any means. He was in the courts. He didn't want to die by this means.”
“This is a convicted murderer. Yes, I expected that he would struggle against his restraints. The attending physician said that he held his breath. I have no reason to disregard the attending physician's observations,” Yost continued. “So, I don't think that the behavior of the inmate is indicative at all about the nature of the process and is indicative of the very human instinct to fight for life.”
