Merve Berker
12 June 2026•Update: 12 June 2026
The US Supreme Court blocked Alabama from executing a death row inmate using nitrogen hypoxia, a method a lower federal court found could violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment, media reports said on Thursday.
The court halted the planned execution of Jeffery Lee, who was convicted of capital murder in the 1998 killing of two people during a pawnshop robbery in Orrville, Alabama, according to CNN.
The majority did not provide an explanation for its decision. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have allowed the execution to proceed.
The ruling leaves in place a federal district court order barring Alabama from executing Lee with nitrogen gas.
The lower court's decision followed a federal appeals court finding that the state's nitrogen hypoxia protocol presented "a substantial risk of serious harm — severe pain over and above death itself."
The appeals court cited concerns that the method could cause "air hunger," a sensation associated with suffocation.
Alabama has carried out seven executions using nitrogen hypoxia, a method adopted as lethal injection drugs became increasingly difficult to obtain.
The lower court concluded that execution by firing squad would significantly reduce the risk of harm and noted that Lee had requested that method.
The Supreme Court's order does not prevent Alabama from seeking to execute Lee by firing squad at a later date.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said she was disappointed by the ruling but remained committed to ensuring "justice is ultimately served" for the victims.
Lee was sentenced to death despite a jury recommendation of life imprisonment. The judicial override procedure used in his case was repealed in Alabama in 2017, although the change was not applied retroactively.
Legal analysts noted that the case differed from many last-minute death penalty appeals because a federal court had already ruled on the merits of the dispute rather than issuing a temporary order.
