Death Penalty
Judge halts use of nitrogen gas for execution, citing cruel and unusual punishment
Alabama death row inmate Jeffery Lee faces execution for a double murder conviction. (Photo courtesy of the Alabama Department of Corrections)
A federal judge in Alabama has prohibited the state from executing an inmate this week using nitrogen gas, ruling that it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. District Judge Emily Marks of the Middle District of Alabama issued the ruling Tuesday, which could stop the execution of Alabama death row inmate Jeffery Lee, who is scheduled to be executed Thursday, for a double murder during a pawn shop robbery in 1998, USA Today reports.
The ruling stops the state from executing inmates using nitrogen gas, as well, though Lee is the only execution scheduled this year, according to the story. The state is expected to appeal the ruling, which could put the matter in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Marks’ ruling follows a hearing about how much pain inmates experience during a nitrogen gas execution. The judge concluded that they experience up to three minutes of “severe air hunger” that results in emotional distress, anxiety, physiological stress and physical discomfort, according to USA Today.
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