Inmate’s haunting final act of life before execution by controversial method

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Prior to his sentence being carried out, Boyd had requested the use of an alternative method of execution, such as a firing squad. His wish was denied, however, a decision criticized by Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court.

“Boyd asks for the barest form of mercy: to die by firing squad, which would kill him in seconds, rather than by a tortuous suffocation lasting up to four minutes,” Sotomayor wrote. “The Constitution would grant him that grace. My colleagues do not.”

Witnesses at the execution said the nitrogen gas began flowing at 5:57pm. Boyd took ‘deep, shuddering breaths’ for 14 minutes. As per the Montgomery Advisor, his brother claimed: “It’s like he’s gasping for air.”

After a series of “choking breaths”, Boyd’s last breath reportedly didn’t come until around 6:17pm.

“After 30 years on death row, Anthony Boyd’s death sentence has been carried out, and his victim’s family has finally received justice,” Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said after the execution.

What do you make of this apparently controversial method of execution? Leave your thoughts below.

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