USA - Alabama. House approves SB 128 to allow the use of nitrogen gas to execute death row inmates

House approves new method of execution. Alabama lawmakers voted SB 128 to allow the use of nitrogen gas to execute death row inmates, a method that has so far not been used to carry out a death sentence. The House of Representatives approved the measure on a 75-23 vote. A spokesman for Gov. Kay Ivey said the governor will review the bill before making a decision whether to sign it into law. The bill would allow executions by asphyxiating inmates with nitrogen gas if lethal injection drugs are unavailable or lethal injection is ruled unconstitutional. The Death Penalty Information Center said that no state has carried out an execution by nitrogen gas. 2 states - Oklahoma and Mississippi - have voted to authorize execution by nitrogen gas as a backup method of execution. Oklahoma announced last week that it will begin using nitrogen for executions, when the state resumes death sentences, because of difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs. Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said then that the execution procedure would likely involve the use of a mask placed over the inmate's head, but he said the details would have to be worked out.