Eight Alabama death row inmates have filed lawsuits in federal over the state’s nitrogen gas execution method, calling the method unconstitutional. 

These lawsuits, each filed separately, are not challenging the inmates’ status on death row. Instead, the suits are solely focused on banning the use of nitrogen gas in executions — a method the state pioneered and has used in five executions since January 2024.

During these executions, inmates are fitted with a mask and breathe in pure nitrogen gas. Without oxygen, the inmates lose consciousness and eventually die.

The lawsuits allege that this mode of execution leads to prolonged suffering in the inmates being executed.

“Death by nitrogen hypoxia is not akin to peacefully going to sleep. It is instead painful suffocation,” lawyers wrote in the suit filed on behalf of death row inmate Mark Jenkins.

The state’s current protocol for nitrogen gas executions has only been released in a redacted version. Death row inmates were given the option to change their execution method from lethal injection to the, at the time, untested nitrogen gas method in June 2018 — before the protocol for the method was released in August 2023. Inmates were not allowed to change their preferred execution method back to lethal injection after the month-long decision period ended.

Alabama has two nitrogen gas executions scheduled for later this year. Geoffrey Todd West is set to be executed in September and Anthony Boyd is set to be executed in October. 

The Alabama Attorney General’s Office has not yet responded to these lawsuits. However, in August 2024, the office settled a suit with death row inmate Alan Miller who was challenging the constitutionality of nitrogen gas executions — concluding that the method was constitutional. Miller was executed in September 2024.

“The resolution of this case confirms that Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia system is reliable and humane,” said Attorney General Steve Marshall after Miller’s case was settled.

Alabama top stories in brief

North Alabama high school under scrutiny after teen severely injured

• Tuscumbia’s Deshler High School is under scrutiny after a 15-year-old student, August Borden, had to be airlifted to UAB Hospital after suffering major head trauma on his walk to football practice on Aug. 19. Borden sustained skull fractures and lost consciousness for two days.
• August Borden’s father, Jason Borden, said last week that he has heard conflicting reports of what caused his son’s injuries and that he did not receive communication from the school following the incident. 
• Jason Borden said statements from the school made it sound as though his son fell while walking to practice and was injured. However, when he contacted Tuscumbia City Schools’ Director of Student Services Bryan Murner, he was told that his son was involved in a scuffle with other students.
• The Tuscumbia Police Department was investigating the incident, but announced they were handing the case over to the Franklin County Juvenile Probation Office with assistance from the Madison County District Attorney’s Office since the case involved minors.

Alabama Department of Public Health confirms first measles case since 2002

• The Alabama Department of Public Health confirmed that a north Alabama child contracted measles while travelling outside of the United States. This is the first confirmed case of measles in the state since 2002.
• The child, who ADPH said is younger than five years old, was not vaccinated against measles. Children typically receive their first dose of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine when they are between 12 and 15 months old.
• Measles is a highly contagious disease. However, the state’s MMR vaccine rates have been dropping in recent years. 93.8% of the state’s kindergartners had received their MMR vaccines going into the 2023-24 school year — below the 95% vaccination rate the CDC considers necessary to achieve herd immunity.

Wilsonville residents rally against data center project

• More than 100 Wilsonville residents packed a City Council meeting last week to voice their objections to a proposed 3 million square-foot data center project.
• The proposed 14 building data center would take up 664 acres. The peak power demand for the center is expected to be more than 1,000 megawatts.
• The data center was not on the City Council’s meeting agenda, but residents still came to express their concerns that constructing and operating a data center would disrupt the peace in this community that abuts Lay Lake by carrying signs that said “No Wilsonville Data Center.”
• Mayor Ricky Morris said at the meeting that there were no updates regarding the project, and that any rezoning or annexation requests related to it would be on the City Council agenda.

Auburn University hoax threat of violence part one of several nationwide

• The Auburn Police Department received a hoax call last week reporting a threat of violence against an Auburn University building. Officers responded en masse to the call and found no threat.
• The department did not disclose the nature of the false threat, but the hoax does coincide with an outbreak of false active shooter threats reported at universities across the country last week. 
• “The unfounded threat associated with this incident is a felony as defined by Alabama state law,” Auburn police said in their statement. The incident is currently under investigation.

Our articles you might have missed:

• There are more than 400 species of birds scattered across Alabama. In the latest edition of The Longleaf Hiker, Hannah Irvin writes about the different types of birds that can be found in Alabama and her personal experiences working with them as an environmental educator.

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