Suffocation by Design
The Story of America's Newest Execution Method
by Jeff Hood
A first-hand account and rigorous investigation into nitrogen hypoxia, the newest execution method to arrive in an American death chamber. Rev. Jeff Hood, who stood beside Kenneth Smith as the state of Alabama killed him, documents what the state calls humane and what witnesses actually saw.
Suffocation by Design tracks the invention, adoption, and defense of a method the medical community refused to endorse. It is a book about design decisions with lethal consequences and about the language a government uses when it needs killing to sound like procedure.
Proceeds from this book fund the Execution Intervention Project — legal work, clemency campaigns, and direct support for people on death row.
