Debating New Execution Methods.

• Author: Davis, Caitlin

Lethal injection is the primary method of execution in all states with the death penalty. But ever since pharmaceutical companies started withholding the drugs used in executions, lawmakers have been forced to look at alternatives. Most companies, for various reasons, don't want to be known for contributing to, or supporting, capital punishment.

So lawmakers are bringing back historical methods of execution and creating new lethal-injection mixtures with previously unused drugs, like fentanyl and midazolam. They've specified that alternative methods be used only if lethal injection is unavailable or has been ruled unconstitutional.

In 2015, Oklahoma became the first state to legalize executions by nitrogen hypoxia (asphyxiation). If it and traditional lethal drugs are unavailable, officials may turn to electrocution or the firing squad, which lawmakers legalized as last resorts. Mississippi did the same in 2017 and Alabama in 2018, though lawmakers there elected to let offenders choose nitrogen hypoxia over lethal injection even when the latter is available.

Death by nitrogen hypoxia is said to be painless and simple to administer. It hasn't been tested on humans, however, so there's little data on its effectiveness.

Instead of designating backup methods, some states are creating new drug formulas. Nebraska created a new formula using the synthetic opioid fentanyl and became...