A proposal to allow executions using nitrogen gas has cleared the Arkansas Legislature.

House Bill 1489 now heads to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. If signed into law, Arkansas would become the fourth state in the U.S. – joining Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi – to allow executions by nitrogen hypoxia.

The bill’s co-sponsor Sen. Blake Johnson, R-Corning, introduced it on the Senate floor Tuesday.

“These are the worst of the worst in our society, and they have [gone] through the judicial system and many of them have been on death row for 20 and 30 years,” Johnson said. “We have a responsibility to those who are on death row and the citizens we serve to take this seriously and to administer this penalty.”

Arkansas Legislature approves executions using nitrogen hypoxia

KUAR | By Nathan Treece

A bill to allow executions using nitrogen gas in Arkansas cleared an initial hurdle Thursday morning.

House Bill 1489 is sponsored by state Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage. It would expand the state’s alternatives to lethal injection to include nitrogen hypoxia, alongside the electric chair, which is Arkansas’ only alternative on record.

In a meeting of the House Judiciary committee Thursday, Deputy Solicitor General Dylan Jacobs said the state has been seeking a resupply of lethal injection drugs since 2017.

“The lethal injection drugs are controlled substances, and the supply chains are obviously very restricted in who can purchase them," said Jacobs. "That's not necessarily the case with nitrogen gas, and states have, thus far, assessed that it's pretty available to get. I'm not aware of any troubles that Alabama has had in securing access to a supply of nitrogen.”

Arkansas House committee advances bill to allow nitrogen gas executions