
Alabama is set to carry out its second nitrogen gas execution, sparking debates over the humaneness of this new method of capital punishment. Alan Eugene Miller, 59, is scheduled to be executed at a south Alabama prison for the murders of three men in 1999.
The nitrogen gas execution involves placing a respirator gas mask over the inmate's face to induce death by lack of oxygen. The first nitrogen gas execution in Alabama took place in January with some controversy over the perceived pain suffered by the inmate.