Supreme Court Blocks Alabama’s Nitrogen Gas Execution
The Supreme Court has ruled against Alabama’s request to execute a man using nitrogen gas, citing the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. This decision, made late Thursday evening, prevents the immediate execution of Jeffery Lee, who was convicted of a double murder in 1998.
In a brief order, the court confirmed Alabama’s request was denied. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch supported Alabama but did not provide a written dissent. The ruling grants Lee a temporary reprieve from his scheduled execution on July 11. Lee had argued that death by nitrogen gas results in prolonged suffocation.
Initially, a federal district court disagreed with Lee’s claim, allowing Alabama to proceed with their chosen method. However, an appeals court later determined that Alabama’s nitrogen gas protocol exposes individuals to significant risk of severe pain beyond death’s inevitability.
Past observations from journalists and advocates have noted that individuals undergoing nitrogen gas executions appear to suffer intensely, often shown by writhing and retching behaviors. Justice Sonia Sotomayor had previously remarked on the psychological anguish associated with suffocation in a 2025 dissent regarding a similar case.
Medical professionals submitted a brief stating execution through nitrogen gas is inherently inhumane. According to the Supreme Court’s precedents, inmates contesting execution methods must propose an alternative that upholds the Eighth Amendment. Lee offered a firing squad as a substitute to the nitrogen gas method.
Early Thursday, Alabama appealed, contending that nitrogen gas does not inflict the same extreme pain seen in historical cruel punishments. The Supreme Court had previously approved Alabama’s execution by nitrogen gas in 2024, with eight executions occurring since then in the state. Alabama also cited logistical challenges in organizing a firing squad.
This decision arrives during an increased rate of executions. The Death Penalty Information Center reports 47 individuals were executed in 2025, the highest in over a decade. The count for this year stands at 15, excluding Lee. Moreover, President Trump has aimed to expand the death penalty despite having only three individuals on federal death row.
States are increasingly adopting alternative execution methods like firing squads and gas chambers due to difficulties in acquiring lethal injection drugs, as pharmaceutical companies decline participation.
The Supreme Court’s ruling delays Lee’s execution, though he remains sentenced to death.