Federal Judge Blocks Alabama Nitrogen Executions but Allows Lethal Injection and Electric Chair

A federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked Alabama from carrying out executions by nitrogen gas, ruling that the method violates the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The order halts the scheduled execution of Jeffrey Lee, set for Thursday at an Alabama prison.

The same judge had ruled last month that Alabama could proceed with nitrogen gas, citing expert testimony that the sensation of air hunger would last only one to three minutes.

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that order on June 8 and directed the lower court to consider the inmate’s preferred alternative of a firing squad. In the new 26-page ruling, the judge stated that Alabama retains two other authorized methods—lethal injection and the electric chair—and that the inmate is not entitled to an injunction barring those options.

The opinion noted that litigation is common in death-penalty cases and that the Constitution does not guarantee a painless death. A spokesman for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the state is appealing the decision. S.

Supreme Court, which has previously allowed nitrogen executions to proceed. Jeffrey Lee was sentenced to death in 2000 for two 1998 murders. A jury recommended life without parole, but a judge overrode that recommendation.

Alabama later ended judicial override for future cases, but the change did not apply retroactively. Alabama became the first state to use nitrogen gas for an execution in January 2024. ” A spokeswoman for the inmate’s legal team said they had no immediate comment.