A federal judge has permanently blocked Alabama from using nitrogen gas to execute death row inmate Jeffrey Lee, citing that the method violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Background
U.S. District Judge Emily C. Marks handed down the ruling after an appeals court reversed her initial finding that the execution method was constitutional. The judge found that the method carries a substantial risk of serious harm, with inmates potentially experiencing conscious suffocation for up to three minutes.
Lee, 49, was scheduled to be put to death on Thursday for his conviction of two counts of capital murder. He is being held at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. The state has two other authorized execution methods: lethal injection and the electric chair.
Reaction
Opponents of the death penalty and critics of the execution method praised Marks’ ruling. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office is appealing the decision, maintaining that the method is constitutional.
The issue is likely bound for the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never ruled a state’s execution method to be unconstitutional. Alabama began using nitrogen gas for executions in January 2024, with seven executions carried out using the method.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
