From: mshaw@panix.com   
      
   J.D. Baldwin  wrote:   
      
   >   Nitrogen hypoxia induces, if   
   > anything, euphoria -- we have over a century of divers' experiences to   
   > support that, and the physiological mechanism is well understood.  The   
   > gas is cheap, readily available and safe to handle (as long as one is   
   > careful with pressurized canisters).  It requires no HAZMAT disposal,   
   > no really specialized apparatus.  It does not depend on medical   
   > personnel participating, finding problematic veins, etc.   
      
   > If it's done right, it's probably second only to hanging as a quick   
   > and effective method, and if it's done wrong -- which seems almost   
   > impossible -- the negative effects of screwing up are effectively   
   > nothing.   
      
   I wonder about the efficacy of different methods of administration.   
   When I first read of this idea, I assumed that it would be done   
   with a chamber as was the case with California and cyanide, but   
   I've since learned that the N2 method has been performed - or   
   perhaps proposed to be performed - via a mask. That seems nonideal   
   to me. As a longtime CPAP user, I know that masks used to administer   
   gasses can be leaky, and hence N2 via mask could take a longer or   
   shorter time, or even fail, depending on fit.   
      
   If it were up to me, I'd house the condemned persons in special   
   airtight cells [1] with normal air pumped in until their death   
   date, and then switch the supply to pure N2 at the appropriate time   
   - along with the ceremony of Last Meal, Last Words, Visitation By   
   Clergy, Family, and Victims' Family, etc.   
      
   [1] My understanding is that death-row inmates essentially live in   
   solitary confinement until the sentence is carried out. Maybe this   
   isn't the case everywhere.   
      
   --   
   Mark Shaw                                        moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm   
   ========================================================================   
                        "Anyway, we delivered the bomb."   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)