In a landmark ruling, US District Judge Emily C. Marks permanently blocked the state of Alabama from executing Jeffery Lee using nitrogen gas, finding that the method violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Alabama had become the first state in the nation to use nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method in January 2024, but the technique has faced repeated legal challenges since. Lee had been scheduled to die on Thursday. The ruling could have far-reaching implications for other states considering nitrogen gas as an alternative to lethal injection, a method that has itself been plagued by controversy and botched procedures.
Federal Judge Permanently Blocks Alabama’s Nitrogen Gas Executions
