[forthac]

They gave him three options though and chose this out of fear that the other methods would essentially torture him.

The only humane form of execution (if there is such a thing) is nitrogen asphyxiation, with the long drop being second in my opinion.

[manarth]

    > "The only humane form of execution…is nitrogen asphyxiation"

Alabama executed a man with nitrogen in January 2025.

    > "Despite state claims that it would be a painless death, witnesses reported Mr. Smith shook, convulsed, writhed, and gasped for minutes until he was pronounced dead at least 22 minutes after the execution began, though just how long it took is unknown since Alabama closed the execution curtain before the official time of death."

https://www.aclu.org/news/capital-punishment/alabama-has-exe...

[littlestymaar]

> The only humane form of execution (if there is such a thing) is nitrogen asphyxiation,

It was the original argument for the guillotine (which have been in use in France until the abolition of death penalty), but it didn't account for malfunctions which could get very dirty very fast …