Table of Contents
- Execution Details
- Last Words
- Background of Conviction
- Execution Statistics
- Status of the Death Penalty
A death row inmate has been executed by nitrogen gas suffocation for burning a man alive over a $200 cocaine debt.
Anthony Boyd’s haunting final words protested his innocence and criticized the execution system as unjust.
Anthony Boyd, 54, has been executed after more than 30 years on death rowCredit: AP
Boyd was secured to a gurney and fitted with an industrial face mask that pumped nitrogen (stock)Credit: AFP
A mask used for nitrogen executions in Louisiana – similar to the one Boyd was fitted withCredit: Louisiana state courts
The execution on Thursday appeared to last longer than usual, with gas flowing for half an hour before Boyd, 54, was pronounced dead.
When asked for his final words, Boyd stated: “I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t take part in killing anyone.
“There can be no justice until we change this system… Let’s get it.”
Boyd was then secured to a gurney and fitted with an industrial face mask, which pumped nitrogen to deprive his body of oxygen.
Reporters observing the execution noted that Boyd clenched his fists, lifted his head, and began to shake at 5:57 PM.
He also raised his legs several inches off the gurney.
At 6:01 PM, he began a prolonged series of gasping breaths, which lasted for at least 15 minutes before he fell silent.
The curtain was drawn in the execution chamber at 6:27 PM, and Boyd was pronounced dead at 6:33 PM.
The exact moment the gas starts flowing is not disclosed, and it continues for five minutes after the prisoner’s heart stops.
Boyd faced this controversial method – described as “cruel and unusual” by critics – after losing his appeal to be executed by firing squad instead.
He had implored the state’s governor to meet with him “before an innocent man is executed,” but the execution proceeded regardless.
Boyd spent over 30 years on death row at William C Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.
He was convicted of aiding in the burning of 32-year-old Gregory Huguley in 1993, due to the victim owing $200 for cocaine.
Huguley was taken to a baseball field, bound with duct tape, doused in gasoline, and set on fire.
Boyd was executed at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, AlabamaCredit: Alamy
Protesters in Alabama campaigning against the death penalty the day before Boyd’s executionCredit: AP
Boyd was convicted mainly based on the testimony of a co-defendant, Quintay Cox, who was not sentenced to death.
The court heard that Boyd bound Huguley’s feet together before another individual doused him in gasoline and ignited him.
A jury found Boyd guilty of capital murder during a kidnapping and recommended a death sentence by a vote of 10-2.
This marked the 40th execution in the United States this year, the highest number since 2012, when 43 inmates were executed.
Florida has conducted the most executions with 14, followed by Texas and Alabama with five each.
The use of nitrogen gas as a method of capital punishment has been condemned by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane.
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others – California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania – have moratoriums in effect.
