Add nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 36

2025-2026

Representatives Stewart, Plummer

Cosponsors: Representatives Click,
King, Hiner, Fowler Arthur, Newman, Young, Mathews, T., Bird,
Barhorst, Miller, K.

A
BILL

To
amend sections
2921.24,

2949.22,
2949.221, and 2949.25 of the Revised Code
to
add nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution and to prohibit the
disclosure of execution identifying information.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
sections
2921.24,

2949.22,
2949.221, and 2949.25 of the Revised Code be amended to read as
follows:

Sec.
2921.24.
(A)

As used in this section:

(1)
"Correctional employee" and "youth services employee"
have the same meanings as in section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(2)
"Execution identifying information" has the same meaning as
in section 2949.221 of the Revised Code.

(3)
"Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01
of the Revised Code.

(B)

No officer or employee of a law enforcement agency or court, or of
the office of the clerk of any court, shall disclose during the
pendency of any criminal case the home address of any peace officer,
parole officer, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney,
correctional employee, or youth services employee who is a witness or
arresting officer in the case.

(B)
(C)
Except as required by division (B)(4) of section 2949.221 or section
2949.222 of the Revised Code, no person shall recklessly disclose
execution identifying information.

(D)

Division
(A)

(B)

of
this section does not prohibit a peace officer, parole officer,
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional
employee, or youth services employee from disclosing the peace
officer's, parole officer's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant
prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, or youth services
employee's own home address, and does not apply to any person who
discloses the home address of a peace officer, parole officer,
prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional
employee, or youth services employee pursuant to a court-ordered
disclosure under division
(C)

(E)

of
this section.

(C)

(E)

The
court in which any criminal case is pending may order the disclosure
of the home address of any peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting
attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, or
youth services employee who is a witness or arresting officer in the
case, if the court determines after a written request for the
disclosure that good cause exists for disclosing the home address of
the peace officer, parole officer, prosecuting attorney, assistant
prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, or youth services
employee.

(D)

(F)

Whoever
violates
division
(A) of
this
section is guilty of disclosure of confidential information, a
misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

(E)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01
of the Revised Code.

(2)
"Correctional employee" and "youth services employee"
have the same meanings as in section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

Sec.
2949.22.
(A)
Except as provided in
division
(C)
divisions
(B), (C), and (E)
of
this section, a death sentence shall be executed by causing the
application to the person, upon whom the sentence was imposed, of a
lethal injection of a drug or combination of drugs of sufficient
dosage to quickly and painlessly cause death. The application of the
drug or combination of drugs shall be continued until the person is
dead. The warden of the correctional institution in which the
sentence is to be executed or another person selected by the director
of rehabilitation and correction shall ensure that the death sentence
is executed.

(B)

Except
as provided in division (E) of this section, a person upon whom a
death sentence was imposed may elect to have the death sentence
executed by lethal injection or by nitrogen hypoxia. The choice shall
be made in writing and shall be submitted to the director of
rehabilitation and correction one week prior to the day designated in
division (D) of this section. If a person timely elects nitrogen
hypoxia, the death sentence shall be executed by causing the
application to the person, upon whom the sentence of death was
imposed, of a lethal quantity of nitrogen gas of sufficient dosage to
quickly cause death. The application of the nitrogen gas shall be
continued until the person is dead. The warden of the correctional
institution in which the sentence is to be executed or another person
selected by the director of rehabilitation and correction shall
ensure that the death sentence is executed.

(C)(1)
Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, if a person
does not timely elect nitrogen hypoxia, does not elect either
nitrogen hypoxia or lethal injection, or elects lethal injection, the
death penalty shall be executed by lethal injection pursuant to
division (A) of this section.

(2)
If, at the time a death sentence is to be executed, the death
sentence cannot be executed by lethal injection, the death sentence
shall be executed by nitrogen hypoxia, as if the person upon whom the
death sentence was imposed had elected nitrogen hypoxia under
division (B) of this section.

(D)

A
death sentence shall be executed within the walls of the state
correctional institution designated by the director of rehabilitation
and correction as the location for executions, within an enclosure to
be prepared for that purpose, under the direction of the warden of
the institution or, in the warden's absence, a deputy warden, and on
the day designated by the judge passing sentence or otherwise
designated by a court in the course of any appellate or
postconviction proceedings. The enclosure shall exclude public view.

(C)

(E)

If
a person is sentenced to death, and if the execution of a death
sentence by lethal injection
or
nitrogen hypoxia
has
been determined to be unconstitutional

by the Ohio supreme court under the Ohio constitution
,

the
death sentence
or
has been determined to be unconstitutional by the United States
supreme court under the United States constitution, or if the United
States supreme court declines to review any judgment holding a method
of execution to be unconstitutional under the United States
constitution made by the Ohio supreme court or the United States
court of appeals that has jurisdiction over Ohio, then all persons
sentenced to death
shall
be executed by using any different manner of execution
prescribed
by law subsequent to the effective date of this amendment instead of
by causing the application to the person of a lethal injection of a
drug or combination of drugs of sufficient dosage to quickly and
painlessly cause death, provided
that

the
subsequently prescribed different manner of execution
has
not been determined to be unconstitutional. The use of the

subsequently
prescribed
different
manner of execution shall be continued until the person is dead. The
warden of the state correctional institution in which the sentence is
to be executed or another person selected by the director of
rehabilitation and correction shall ensure that the sentence of death
is executed.

(D)
No change in the law made by the amendment to this section that took
effect on October 1, 1993, or by this amendment constitutes a
declaration by or belief of the general assembly that execution of a
death sentence by electrocution is a cruel and unusual punishment
proscribed by
(F)
No sentence of death shall be reduced as a result of a determination
that a method of execution is declared unconstitutional under
the
Ohio Constitution or the United States Constitution.

In any case in which an execution method is declared
unconstitutional, the death sentence remains in force until the
sentence can be lawfully executed by any valid method of execution.

Sec.
2949.221.
(A)
As used in this section:

(1)
"Person" has the same meaning as in section 1.59 of the
Revised Code.

(2)
"Licensing authority" means an entity, board, department,
commission, association, or agency that issues a license to a person
or entity.

(3)
"Public office" has the same meaning as in section 117.01
of the Revised Code.

(4)
"Execution identifying information" means any record or
information that directly or indirectly reveals a name, residential
or business address, residential or business telephone number, day
and month of birth, social security number, or professional
qualifications of:

(a)
Any person who participates in or administers the execution of a
death sentence;

(b)
Any person that manufactures, compounds, imports, transports,
distributes, prescribes, prepares, administers, or otherwise supplies
any drugs or combination of drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients,
gas, or other material used in the execution of a death sentence, or
any equipment used to administer any drugs or combination of drugs,
active pharmaceutical ingredients, gas, or other material to any
person during the execution of a death sentence.

(B)

If,
at any time prior to the day that is twenty-four months after the
effective date of this section, a person manufactures, compounds,
imports, transports, distributes, supplies, prescribes, prepares,
administers, uses, or tests any of the compounding equipment or
components, the active pharmaceutical ingredients, the drugs or
combination of drugs, the medical supplies, or the medical equipment
used in the application of a lethal injection of a drug or
combination of drugs in the administration of a death sentence by
lethal injection as provided for in division (A) of section 2949.22
of the Revised Code, notwithstanding
Notwithstanding

any
provision of law to the contrary, all of the following apply
regarding any information or record in the possession of any public
office that
identifies
or reasonably leads to the identification of the person and the
person's participation in any activity described in this
division
contains
execution identifying information
:

(1)
The information or record shall be classified as confidential, is
privileged under law, and is not subject to disclosure by any person,
state agency, governmental entity, board, or commission or any
political subdivision as a public record under section 149.43 of the
Revised Code or otherwise.

(2)
The information or record shall not be subject to disclosure by or
during any judicial proceeding, inquiry, or process, except as
described in division (B)(4) of this section or in section 2949.222
of the Revised Code.

(3)
The information or record shall not be subject to discovery,
subpoena, or any other means of legal compulsion for disclosure to
any person or entity, except as described in division (B)(4) of this
section or in section 2949.222 of the Revised Code.

(4)(a)
If the information or record pertains to the manufacture,
compounding, importing, transportation, distribution, or supplying of
any of the items or materials described in division (B) of this
section, the person or entity that maintains the information or
record shall disclose the information or record to the Ohio ethics
commission and the commission may use the information or record,
subject to division (B)(1) of this section, only to confirm the
following:

(i)
That the relationship between the person and the department of
rehabilitation and correction is consistent with and complies with
the ethics laws of this state;

(ii)
That at the time of the specified conduct, the person has all
licenses required under the laws of this state to engage in that
conduct and the licenses are valid.

(b)
If the Ohio ethics commission receives any information or record
pursuant to division (B)(4)(a) of this section, the commission shall
complete its use of the information or record for the purposes
described in that division within fourteen days of its receipt and
shall promptly report its findings to the director of rehabilitation
and correction.

(C)(1)
If
,
at any time prior to the day that is twenty-four months after the
effective date of this section,

an employee or former employee of the department of rehabilitation
and correction or any other individual selected or designated by the
director of the department participates or participated in the
administration of a sentence of death

by lethal injection
,
as provided for in
division
(A) of
section
2949.22 of the Revised Code, subject to division (C)(2) of this
section and notwithstanding any other provision of law to the
contrary, the protections and limitations specified in divisions
(B)(1), (2), and (3) of this section shall apply regarding any
information or record in the possession of any public office that
identifies or reasonably leads to the identification of the employee,
former employee, or other individual and the employee's, former
employee's, or individual's participation in the administration of
the sentence of death
by
lethal injection
described
in this division.

(2)
Division (C)(1) of this section does not apply with respect to
information or a record that identifies or reasonably leads to the
identification of the director of rehabilitation and correction or
the warden of the state correctional institution in which the
administration of the sentence of death takes place.

(D)
The protections and limitations specified in divisions (B)(1), (2),
and (3) of this section regarding information and records that
identify or may reasonably lead to the identification of a person
described in

divisions

division

(B) or (C) of this section and the person's participation in any
activity described in the particular division are rights that shall
be recognized as follows:

(1)
With respect to a person that is an individual, without any
requirement for the person to take any action or specifically apply
for recognition of such rights
.
;

(2)
With respect to a person that is not an individual, the rights do not
exist unless the person requests to have the rights recognized by
applying in writing to the director of rehabilitation and correction.

The
director of rehabilitation and correction by rule shall establish the
procedure according to which a person who is not an individual may
apply in writing for the rights described in divisions (B)(1), (2),
and (3) of this section. The director shall approve an application
that is submitted in compliance with the rules. A person whose
application is approved is entitled to the rights for twenty years
after the person ceases the qualifying activity as contemplated by
the first paragraph of division (B) of this section. The director
shall notify any person, who is not an individual and who is entitled
to the rights, of the application procedures.

(E)
If a person or entity that
,
at any time prior to the day that is twenty-four months after the
effective date of this section,

participates in, consults regarding, performs any function with
respect to, including any activity described in division (B) of this
section, or provides any expert opinion testimony regarding an
execution
by
lethal injection
conducted
in accordance with
division
(A) of
section
2949.22 of the Revised Code is licensed by a licensing authority,
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the licensing
authority shall not do any of the following as a result of that
participation, consultation, performance, activity, or testimony by
the person or entity:

(1)
Challenge, reprimand, suspend, or revoke the person's or entity's
license;

(2)
Take any disciplinary action against the person or entity or the
person's or entity's licensure.

(F)
A person may not, without the approval of the director of
rehabilitation and correction, knowingly disclose the identity and
participation in an activity described in the particular division of
any person to whom division (B) of this section applies and that is
made confidential, privileged, and not subject to disclosure under
that division or of an employee, former employee, or other individual
to whom division (C)(1) of this section applies and that is made
confidential, privileged, and not subject to disclosure under that
division. Any person, employee, former employee, or individual whose
identity and participation in a specified activity is disclosed in
violation of this division has a civil cause of action against any
person who discloses the identity and participation in the activity
in violation of this division. In a civil action brought under this
division, the plaintiff is entitled to recover from the defendant
actual damages, punitive or exemplary damages upon a showing of a
willful violation of this division, and reasonable attorney's fees
and court costs.

(G)
If division (B), (C), or (D) of this section applies to a person with
respect to any conduct or activity of the person occurring at a time
prior to the day that is twenty-four months after the effective date
of this section, the expiration of that twenty-four-month period does
not affect, add to, or diminish the protections and limitations
specified in division (B) or (C), division (D), and division (E) of
this section with respect to their application to that person.

Sec.
2949.25.
(A)
At the execution of a death sentence, only the following persons may
be present:

(1)
The warden of the state correctional institution in which the
sentence is executed or a deputy warden, any other person selected by
the director of rehabilitation and correction to ensure that the
death sentence is executed, any persons necessary to execute the
death sentence by lethal injection

or nitrogen hypoxia
,
and the number of correction officers that the warden thinks
necessary;

(2)
The sheriff of the county in which the prisoner was tried and
convicted;

(3)
The director of rehabilitation and correction, or the director's
agent;

(4)
Physicians of the state correctional institution in which the
sentence is executed;

(5)
The clergyperson in attendance upon the prisoner, and not more than
three other persons, to be designated by the prisoner, who are not
confined in any state institution;

(6)
Not more than three persons to be designated by the immediate family
of the victim;

(7)
Representatives of the news media as authorized by the director of
rehabilitation and correction.

(B)
The director shall authorize at least one representative of a
newspaper, at least one representative of a television station, and
at least one representative of a radio station to be present at the
execution of the sentence under division (A)(7) of this section.

Section
2.
That
existing sections
2921.24,

2949.22,
2949.221, and 2949.25 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.