Federal Judge Permanently Blocks Alabama's Nitrogen Gas Execution Method as Unconstitutionally Cruel
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Alabama's emergency request to execute death row inmate Jeffery Lee by nitrogen gas on Thursday evening, upholding lower court rulings that found the method violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The decision followed a rapid legal sequence in which a federal district judge initially approved the method, an appeals court reversed her, and she then permanently enjoined the state from using nitrogen hypoxia on Lee, who was convicted of a 1998 double murder. The 6-3 ruling — with Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissenting — marks the first time the Supreme Court has declined to allow a nitrogen gas execution to proceed, though Lee can still face execution by lethal injection or electrocution.
U.S. District Judge Emily C. Marks permanently blocked Alabama from executing Jeffery Lee, 49, by nitrogen gas on Tuesday, June 10, 2026, after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed her earlier May ruling that the method was constitutional. The appeals court found Alabama's nitrogen hypoxia protocol presents 'a substantial risk of serious harm — severe pain over and above death itself,' citing testimony that condemned inmates likely experience severe air hunger, emotional distress, and physical discomfort for one to three minutes before losing consciousness. Marks's 26-page ruling directed the state toward its two other authorized methods — lethal injection and the electric chair — and found that Lee's proposed alternative of a firing squad was feasible and would significantly reduce the risk of serious harm. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall immediately appealed, and the state filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court hours before Lee's scheduled Thursday execution. The Supreme Court denied Alabama's request in a brief, unsigned order, with three conservative justices dissenting. Alabama has carried out seven of the eight nitrogen gas executions conducted in the United States since pioneering the method in January 2024 with the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith, whose 22-minute death drew widespread criticism from witnesses. Lee was convicted of shooting and killing pawnshop owner Jimmy Ellis and employee Elaine Thompson during a robbery on December 12, 1998; a jury voted 7-5 for life imprisonment, but a judge overrode that recommendation and sentenced him to death under a practice Alabama abolished in 2017.
What's missing
The Supreme Court's unsigned order provides no legal reasoning, leaving open the precise constitutional standard the majority applied; it is also unclear on what timeline Alabama intends to pursue execution by lethal injection or electrocution.
How coverage differed
Left-leaning outlets such as The Guardian, NBC News, and NPR gave prominent attention to Lee's personal reaction, the jury override controversy, and critics' characterizations of nitrogen gas as torturous, while right-leaning outlets like the Washington Examiner and Fox News foregrounded the attorney general's appeal, the state's penological arguments, and the victims' families' perspective without dwelling on the judicial override background.
What different sources said
- BBC Top StoriesCenter
US Supreme Court denies Alabama's request to carry out nitrogen gas execution
- Washington ExaminerRight
Supreme Court blocks Alabama from executing inmate with nitrogen gas
- NYT USLeft
Supreme Court Blocks Alabama from Executing Inmate Using Nitrogen Gas
- NBC NewsLeft
Supreme Court denies Alabama’s attempt to execute Jeffery Lee by nitrogen gas
- NPR NewsLeft
Supreme Court prohibits Alabama from using nitrogen gas for execution
- Washington TimesRight
Supreme Court rejects Alabama request for nitrogen gas execution
- AP NewsCenter
Judge bars Alabama nitrogen gas execution, says method is unconstitutionally cruel
- Al JazeeraLeft
US judge halts execution by nitrogen gas, ruling it unconstitutional
- Fox NewsRight
Judge blocks Alabama's nitrogen gas execution method, rules it is unconstitutionally cruel
- New York PostRight
Judge blocks Alabama’s nitrogen gas execution method, rules it is unconstitutionally cruel
- CBS NewsCenter
Alabama's nitrogen gas executions constitute cruel and unusual punishment, judge rules
- The Guardian USLeft
Alabama wants to execute a man by nitrogen hypoxia. That is cruel | Austin Sarat
- AL.comCenter
Alabama inmate fighting execution killed world famous masked Elvis impersonator in 1998 double murder
- ABC News PoliticsCenter
Alabama asks appeals court to let it continue nitrogen gas executions
- CNN WorldCenter
Jeffery Lee: Judge bars Alabama nitrogen gas execution, says method is unconstitutionally cruel
- The IndependentLeft
Alabama asks appeals court to let Jeffery Lee’s nitrogen gas execution go forward tonight
- PBS NewsHourLeft
What to know about execution methods in the U.S. after judge blocks Alabama from using nitrogen gas
- UPICenter
Supreme Court disallows nitrogen gas execution method
- PoliticoLeft
Supreme Court rejects Alabama request for nitrogen gas execution
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