Scotty Gardner, an Arkansas death row prisoner, is pleading for his execution to be scheduled even as the state’s new execution procedure faces legal opposition from fellow inmates.
According to the New York Post, Gardner's request is stalled due to a pending lawsuit filed by 10 other death row inmates who are fighting Arkansas' adoption of nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative execution method.
Gardner, 60, was sentenced to death in 2018 following his conviction for killing his girlfriend. According to court records, he strangled her by using the cord of a curling iron, then stole items from her apartment and used them to go gambling. His conviction followed a history of violent crimes, including a 1990 attempted murder for which he had previously served prison time. Gardner has been publicly pushing for his execution for several years. In 2020, he sent a letter to the Arkansas Supreme Court expressing his willingness to be executed by any available method, such as the electric chair or a firing squad. His frustrations stem from his experiences on death row, where he has routinely described substandard living conditions.
In a 2025 court filing, he reiterated his requests for execution in plain terms, saying, “Set a date and let’s do it.” He has criticized his prison environment, noting recurring issues such as bugs infiltrating his cell through an open floor drain, and described generally unsanitary conditions in solitary confinement.
Execution Delays Caused by Method Dispute
Despite Gardner's eagerness to be executed, Arkansas' current legal battle over its revised execution protocols has halted the process. On August 5, 2025, the state authorized nitrogen hypoxia as a valid execution method. However, it remains untested in any execution nationwide and is raising legal and ethical concerns. Nitrogen hypoxia involves causing death by forcing the inmate to breathe 100% nitrogen gas, depriving the body of its required oxygen. The technique is already permitted in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Each of those states adopted the method after facing dwindling supplies of lethal injection drugs.
The method's controversial nature is partly due to its limited real-world use. Commonly associated with suicide devices, such as Sarco pods, its application in judicial executions remains unclear and unproven. This uncertainty has alarmed inmates and their legal representatives.
Inmates Assert Rights Based on Sentencing Terms
The legal complaint brought by ten death row inmates centers on the claim that their original death sentences specified lethal injection. The plaintiffs argue that switching to a gas-based method potentially violates their constitutional rights and alters the original sentence they received.
Attorney Heather Fraley, who represents several of the inmates in the case, explained the legal stance. She emphasized that Arkansas jurors sentenced the individuals with the understanding that death would occur via lethal injection. She argued that the state legislature is not authorized to impose what she described as a “very different and highly problematic” form of execution. Because of this lawsuit, Gardner’s execution has not proceeded. Arkansas has not carried out any executions since 2017, when the state last employed lethal injection amid a series of controversial events that drew national attention.
Arkansas’ History With Executions Since 2017
In 2017, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson ordered a rapid series of executions due to the impending expiration of the state’s drug supply. Initially, eight executions were scheduled to occur within 11 days. Four of those were granted stays, two were executed successfully, and the remaining two were reportedly mishandled during administration. Since then, the state has been largely inactive in conducting executions as it, like many other states, faces difficulties obtaining the pharmaceuticals required for lethal injection. This vacuum has prompted the search for alternative methods, such as nitrogen hypoxia, now under legal scrutiny.
Adding to Arkansas' death row developments, two inmates died of unrelated causes earlier this year. Bruce Ward, the longest-serving prisoner on death row, died of natural causes at age 68 in April. Sentenced over three decades ago, Ward had been scheduled for execution in 2017 before the courts intervened.
Recent Inmate Deaths Further Shift Focus
Another inmate, Latavious Johnson, died in June 2025 at the age of 43. Johnson had been sentenced to death after he was convicted of killing his father in 2000 and, years later, a correctional officer in 2012. His cause of death was not released by the prison system.
These deaths have further reduced the population of Arkansas’ death row, even as the legal process over execution methods continues to unfold. The outcome of the current lawsuit could impact future execution plans and potentially affect how death sentences are carried out in the state. For Gardner, however, the delays remain a personal source of anguish. As his request for execution remains unanswered, his legal and physical confinement continues under conditions he has described as deteriorating and inhumane.
Gardner Caught Between Legal Wrangling and Personal Plea
The irony of Gardner’s situation is that while many death row inmates fight their scheduled executions, he is actively seeking his own. Yet, his fate is entangled in the broader conflict over what methods the state can legally use to carry out capital punishment.
As Arkansas stands at a legal crossroads, its attempt to modernize or adapt its techniques for executions is meeting resistance from those it aims to punish. The result is a complex and uncertain future for both the state’s justice system and the inmates within it.
