A man convicted of a 1993 murder in Alabama has been executed using nitrogen gas, a method that continues to spark heated debate over its legality and humaneness. The inmate, 54-year-old Anthony Boyd, was put to death on Thursday evening after spending three decades on death row. Boyd had been sentenced to death in 1995 for the murder of Gregory “New York” Huguley, who was reportedly set on fire over a $200 drug debt.
Throughout his imprisonment, Boyd consistently maintained his innocence. In his final moments, he once again denied involvement in the crime, declaring that there could be no justice until the system was changed. Despite his appeals, several courts rejected his request to be executed by firing squad, an alternative method he argued would be more humane.
Boyd’s execution marked the seventh time the state has used nitrogen gas for capital punishment since the method’s introduction in early 2024. Alabama adopted the gas procedure after facing recurring challenges in administering lethal injections and acquiring the necessary drug combinations.
Nitrogen hypoxia, as the process is known, deprives the body of oxygen by forcing the inmate to breathe pure nitrogen. Critics argue that it leads to a slow, painful death, describing it as “torturous suffocation.” Supporters of the method, however, claim it is a more efficient and reliable alternative to lethal injection.
The execution process reportedly lasted nearly 40 minutes from the time Boyd was restrained until he was pronounced dead. Witnesses observed that he continued to breathe and convulse for more than 20 minutes before becoming motionless. The gas was turned off shortly after, and he was declared dead at 6:33 p.m.
Boyd’s legal team had also challenged the use of nitrogen gas in the Supreme Court, claiming it violated the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The Court’s conservative majority denied his plea, while dissenting justices described the method as unnecessarily brutal.
Boyd’s case highlights ongoing divisions in the United States over capital punishment and the search for what some call “more humane” methods of execution. With several states reconsidering their death penalty practices, Alabama’s repeated use of nitrogen gas continues to draw scrutiny from both human rights groups and legal experts.
