The governor of Oklahoma has signed a law allowing death row prisoners to be executed with nitrogen gas, becoming the first state to adopt the method.
Oklahoma has been forced to halt its use of lethal injections pending a US Supreme Court hearing later this month because of complaints that one of the three drugs used in the process is unsuitable.
Several states have been using a sedative called Midazolam because the drug which has been used previously was withdrawn by its manufacturers, who were angry it was being used to kill prisoners.
A number of executions involving Midazolam have seen prisoners taking longer to die than recommended.
Opponents have claimed it constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment", forbidden under the US constitution.
Death penalty supporters in Oklahoma proposed the alternative method of nitrogen hypoxia, which causes a loss of consciousness followed by death from lack of oxygen.
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