The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a suspension of executions in Alabama using nitrogen gas after a lower court determined that the method might constitute cruel and unusual punishment, violating the U.S. Constitution. This last-minute intervention is a rare occurrence in death penalty cases.
The Supreme Court issued an unsigned order rejecting Alabama's appeal to proceed with the execution of 49-year-old Jeffrey Lee, who was scheduled to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia at 6 p.m. local time yesterday (11 June). Lee was convicted of murdering two people during a 1998 pawnshop robbery and had been on death row for over 20 years.
The emergency order from the Supreme Court did not provide reasons, which is customary for urgent rulings. However, reports indicate that three of the nine justices—Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch—dissented, favoring Alabama's request to proceed with the execution.
Previously, a jury had recommended a life sentence without parole for Lee, but the presiding judge exercised special authority to override the jury's decision and impose the death penalty instead. This judicial override power has since been abolished.
The Supreme Court's order follows a federal court judge's permanent ban on nitrogen gas executions earlier this week, after hearings in April that included expert and witness testimonies.
The lower court found that nitrogen gas execution, which involves placing a mask over the inmate's face to replace oxygen with pure nitrogen until death, is a relatively new method that may cause "severe suffocation," along with intense emotional suffering, anxiety, physiological stress, and significant physical pain before loss of consciousness and death. This violates the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment and has been condemned as torture by the United Nations.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall expressed strong dissatisfaction, calling the suspension "a failure of the justice system" and unfair to the victims' families who were preparing to witness the final punishment. However, Alabama retains the right to seek execution of Lee by other methods. The Attorney General emphasized, "The state is prepared to pursue all legal avenues to ensure Lee's sentence is carried out."
Alabama is among the few U.S. states to use nitrogen gas executions. Since adopting the method in January 2024, Alabama has executed seven inmates using this technique.
Regarding the overall death penalty situation in the U.S. in 2026,there have been 15 executions: Florida 8, Texas 4, Oklahoma 2, and Arizona 1.
In 2025, there were 47 executions nationwide, the highest since 2009 when 52 were carried out. Florida led with 19 executions, followed by Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas, each with 5. Methods included lethal injection (39), firing squad (3), and nitrogen gas (5).
Currently, 23 of the 50 U.S. states have completely abolished the death penalty, while three states—California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania—have moratoriums on executions. Nevertheless, former President Donald Trump remains a proponent of capital punishment and has called for expanding its use to cover the country’s "most heinous crimes."