Oklahoma will use nitrogen gas to execute prisoners, in a deadly first for US

Oklahoma officials said on Wednesday the state would resume executions using nitrogen gas, a move that would make it the first US state to use the gas for capital punishment.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said in a statement that the state would use the gas as its primary means of execution once a procedure for its use had been finalised.

A spokeswoman for Hunter declined to comment on when executions might resume following a three-year hiatus. It was not likely until the end of the year at the earliest, The Oklahoman newspaper reported.

Oklahoma has not carried out an execution since 2015 after a series of mishaps, including a botched lethal injection where an inmate was seen by witnesses writhing in pain on a death chamber gurney.

Oklahoma is turning to nitrogen after it, and other states, have been unable to acquire drugs required for lethal injections due to opposition from manufacturers to their products being used for capital punishment.

According to the state law, if lethal injection is unavailable, executions must be carried out by nitrogen gas inhalation, Hunter said in the statement.