The Book
Suffocation / by Design
The Final Breaths of America's Newest Execution Method
Jeff Hood · Second Edition · Complicit Press, 2026
Written by the spiritual advisor who has stood beside twelve men in their final moments, Suffocation by Design is the most complete public record of every nitrogen execution the United States has carried out. The full manuscript is published here, chapter by chapter, so no reader is ever priced out of the truth of what these deaths look like.
Copyright © 2026 Jeff Hood · Complicit Press · All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
- 0.0Preface: A Letter Written from the Edge of BreathRead →
- 0.01Preface to the Second Edition: The Year a Court Finally LookedJump →
- 0.1The Search for a "Fool-Proof" Solution: Oklahoma Unleashes Nitrogen HypoxiaJump →
- 1.0The Execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith: Nitrogen Hypoxia and the Evolution of Capital Punishment in AlabamaRead →
- 1.1Personal Account of the Execution of Kenneth Smith on January 25, 2024Jump →
- 1.211^th^ Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jill Pryor's Dissent in Smith v. Hamm: A Moral and Constitutional ReckoningJump →
- 2.0The Execution of Alan Eugene MillerRead →
- 3.0The Execution of Carey Dale Grayson: Defiance, Normalization and the Third Nitrogen DeathRead →
- 3.1Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. and the Judicial Construction of Nitrogen Hypoxia in AlabamaJump →
- 4.0The Execution of Demetrius Frazier: Interstate Custody, Gubernatorial Authority and the Fourth Nitrogen DeathRead →
- 5.0The Execution of Jessie Hoffman Jr.: Louisiana's First Nitrogen Death and the Interstate Spread of an Experimental MethodRead →
- 5.1Judge Shelly D. Dick and the Judicial Safeguard Against Nitrogen Hypoxia in the Hoffman CaseJump →
- 5.2Comparing Judicial Approaches to Nitrogen Hypoxia: Huffaker in Alabama and Dick in LouisianaJump →
- 5.3The Respirator Mask in Nitrogen Hypoxia Executions: Design, Function and Witness TestimonyJump →
- 6.0The Execution of Gregory Hunt: Pro Se Filings, "No Pity Party" and the Sixth Nitrogen DeathRead →
- 7.0The Execution of Geoffrey Todd West: Forgiveness, "The Least Movement" and the Seventh Nitrogen DeathRead →
- 8.0The Execution of Anthony Boyd: "The Longest Yet," Project Hope and Justice Sotomayor's DissentRead →
- 8.1Personal Account of the Execution of Anthony Boyd on October 23, 2025Jump →
- 8.2Judge Emily C. Marks and Boyd v. Hamm: Judicial Endorsement and Limits of Nitrogen HypoxiaJump →
- 8.3Navigating Death by Nitrogen: A Comparative Judicial Study of Huffaker, Dick and MarksJump →
- 8.4Justice Sonia Sotomayor's Dissent in Boyd v. Hamm: A Constitutional and Moral ReckoningJump →
- 8.5Judicial Approaches to Nitrogen Hypoxia: A Comparative AnalysisJump →
- 9.0The Lee Bench Trial: The First Trial in the Country and the Candor That Undid ItRead →
- 9.1The Reversal: Severe Pain Over and Above Death ItselfJump →
- 9.2The Injunction: The First Permanent Ban on a Method of ExecutionJump →
- 9.3The Supreme Court: Why the Court Did Not Rescue AlabamaJump →
- 9.4Judicial Approaches in the Lee Litigation: A Comparative Analysis of the Nitrogen JudgesJump →
- 10.0Conclusion: The Weight of Innovation in the Machinery of DeathRead →
- 11.0Postface to the First Edition: Final Reflections from the Edge of BreathRead →
- 12.0Postface to the Second Edition: One More Letter from the Edge of BreathRead →
- 13.0Appendix. The Week Nitrogen Lost: Three Essays Written asRead →