Several local Christian leaders of different denominations gathered at the Arkansas Capitol Thursday morning to deliver a letter to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders urging her not to move forward with nitrogen gas executions . Sanders signed a new state law in March that authorizes executions using nitrogen gas hypoxia; the law went into effect Aug. 5.

Hypoxia is the deprivation of oxygen in the body. A nitrogen gas execution involves fitting a prisoner’s face with a mask that forces them to breathe pure nitrogen gas.

The letter was signed by 40 faith leaders across the state, including Bishop Anthony Taylor of the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock and one Jewish and two Buddhist leaders. The clergy want the governor to investigate the use of nitrogen executions as torture, using religiou

See Full Page