Alabama carried out the execution of Anthony Boyd, 54, at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility by using nitrogen hypoxia, a method that replaces breathable air with pure nitrogen, causing death by oxygen deprivation. Boyd was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m. This execution marked the second consecutive year that Alabama employed the controversial nitrogen-gas method.
Boyd was sentenced to death for his involvement in the 1993 murder of Gregory Huguley in Talladega County. The prosecution stated that Huguley was set ablaze due to a $200 drug debt. During the trial, a key witness revealed that Boyd bound Huguley’s feet before another individual poured gasoline on him and set him on fire. Boyd was convicted of capital murder during a kidnapping, with the jury recommending the death penalty by a 10–2 vote. He had been on death row in Alabama since 1995.
Despite spending nearly 30 years on death row, Boyd consistently maintained his innocence, claiming he was at a party during the time of Huguley’s murder. He denied any involvement in the killing during a news conference on October 8. Boyd also held a position at Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty, an advocacy group comprising Alabama inmates facing capital punishment.
The state of Alabama adopted nitrogen gas as an alternative execution method last year due to drug shortages and legal disputes concerning lethal injection drugs. The process involves placing a mask over the inmate’s face to administer pure nitrogen, leading to death through oxygen deprivation.
Nitrogen hypoxia has been utilized in a total of eight executions nationwide, with seven carried out in Alabama and one in Louisiana. Human rights organizations have strongly criticized this method, citing concerns about its untested effects and the potential for prolonged suffering.