There are 61 women on death row across the country, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, making up only 2% of the 3,125 inmates on death row across the country. Take a look at all the women sentenced to death in the United States. Source: Death Penalty Information Center
Lethal injection explained (2014)
01:27 - Source: CNN
Death penalty debate 16 videos
There are 61 women on death row across the country, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, making up only 2% of the 3,125 inmates on death row across the country. Take a look at all the women sentenced to death in the United States. Source: Death Penalty Information Center
Lethal injection explained (2014)
01:27
Now playing
- Source: CNN
orig sanjay death penalty explainer npr mg_00002313.jpg
Lethal Injection: The process
01:27
Now playing
- Source: CNN
death row stories botched executions_00004405.jpg
How executions go wrong
02:16
Now playing
- Source: CNN
Alabama Police Department
Witness: Inmate struggled during execution
02:28
Now playing
- Source: CNN
Kenneth Williams Arkansas execution victim family orig vstan dlewis_00000000.jpg
Victim's family fulfills killer's last wish
01:30
Now playing
- Source: CNN
orig jag death penalty stats_00000214.jpg
The death penalty in America
01:22
Now playing
- Source: CNN
orig who gets the death penalty cevallos _00010620.jpg
Who gets the death penalty?
02:07
Now playing
- Source: CNN
Lethal Injection Drug Orig_00013204.jpg
Court rules on the use of lethal injection drug
01:50
Now playing
- Source: CNN
crossfire se cupp death penalty 2
Conservatives vs. the death penalty
01:24
Now playing
- Source: CNN
SCOTUS mullery
Lethal injection at the Supreme Court in two minutes
02:04
Now playing
- Source: CNN
There are 61 women on death row across the country, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, making up only 2% of the 3,125 inmates on death row across the country. Take a look at all the women sentenced to death in the United States. Source: Death Penalty Information Center
Supreme Court Justice Breyer on the death penalty
01:23
Now playing
- Source: CNN
SCOTUS mullery
2015: Pope Francis calls for abolition of death penalty
03:41
Now playing
- Source: CNN
pope francis death penalty abortion_00011325.jpg
Detective recalls how he put Georgia woman on death row
03:20
Now playing
- Source: WGCL
C1.5 electric chair
Tennessee to use the electric chair
01:40
Now playing
- Source: CNN
exp Lead pkg brown botched lethal injection oklahoma _00013214.jpg
Execution drugs shrouded in secrecy
02:19
Now playing
- Source: CNN
new dnt botched execution brown_00000904.jpg
Inmate dies after botched execution
04:33
Now playing
- Source: CNN

Story highlights

Nitrogen gas causes a quick loss of consciousness and then death from lack of oxygen, Oklahoma says

The state's executions are on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court reviews the state's use of lethal injections

CNN  — 

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin signed a bill on Friday that would allow the state to perform executions with nitrogen gas if lethal injection is ruled unconstitutional or becomes unavailable.

Nitrogen causes a quick loss of consciousness and then death from lack of oxygen, Fallin’s office said in a press release. CNN affiliate KFOR says it’s never been used in an execution in the United States.

“The person will become unconscious within eight to 10 seconds and death a few minutes later. In other words, a humane, quick and painless death,” said Rep. Mike Christian, one of the bill’s authors, according to KFOR.

Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told the Washington Post that the same “painless” argument had been used to advance the use of lethal injections.

“The hasty manner in which this bill sped into law reflects the same lack of care with which Oklahoma has managed its execution process historically,” he said.

Oklahoma’s executions have been put on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court reviews its use of lethal injections. Last year, the state came under scrutiny when it took 43 minutes to kill convicted killer Clayton Lockett.

Fallin reaffirmed her support for the death penalty.

“Oklahoma executes murderers whose crimes are especially heinous,” Fallin said. “I support that policy, and I believe capital punishment must be performed effectively and without cruelty. The bill I signed today gives the state of Oklahoma another death penalty option that meets that standard.”

The governor’s office said the first alternative for execution is lethal injection, followed by nitrogen gas, the electric chair and the firing squad.