A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a ruling that blocked Alabama from using nitrogen hypoxia in the scheduled execution of Jeffery Lee, a convicted murderer. The decision forces the state to employ an alternative method if it moves forward with the death penalty.

The case centers on Lee’s scheduled execution, originally set for Thursday. Last Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Emily Marks of the Middle District of Alabama barred the use of nitrogen gas, ruling that the execution method likely violates constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Judge Marks, reinforcing the injunction against nitrogen hypoxia.

Nitrogen hypoxia, which causes death by depriving the body of oxygen, has recently emerged as a replacement for lethal injection amid difficulties procuring execution drugs. Alabama conducted the nation’s first execution using nitrogen gas earlier this year. However, questions regarding the method’s reliability and humaneness remain under scrutiny. Witness accounts from previous nitrogen executions describe involuntary convulsions and extended distress.

Lee challenged the use of nitrogen hypoxia, proposing execution by firing squad as a potentially quicker and less painful alternative. Judge Marks found merit in this claim, noting that a firing squad—consisting of five marksmen aiming at the heart—would likely render Lee unconscious before inflicting pain. The judge acknowledged that while Alabama lacks a current protocol or legislative approval for firing squads, his claim demonstrated a substantially reduced risk of severe pain compared to nitrogen gas.

Although the ruling prohibits nitrogen hypoxia for Lee, it does not prevent Alabama from proceeding with lethal injection or electrocution, two other legally sanctioned methods.

Lee’s attorneys have called on Governor Kay Ivey to intervene, asserting that the execution plan remains deeply flawed. The governor’s office, however, stated it was prepared to continue defending the current execution protocol. Officials indicate readiness to carry out the execution despite ongoing legal challenges and a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case has intensified debate over Lee’s death sentence, which was imposed under a now-abolished Alabama practice known as judicial override. In Lee’s 1998 case, a jury recommended a life sentence without parole, but the trial judge overruled that decision and imposed the death penalty. Alabama was the last state to allow judges this power, having exercised it more than 100 times. The practice was ended in 2017 but without retroactive effect, leaving numerous sentences—including Lee’s—unchanged.

Some legal voices in Alabama, including former Chief Justice Drayton Nabers Jr., have criticized the refusal to reconsider sentences resulting from judicial override. Nabers argued that abolishing the practice should logically entail reevaluating its past outcomes, calling the current stance administratively convenient but lacking principled consistency.

State officials maintain that justice for the victims—Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson, whom Lee was convicted of killing—must be upheld. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall emphasized the state's responsibility to carry out lawful sentences as a matter of justice for the victims and their families.

The nitrogen hypoxia debate reflects a broader national discussion about execution methods amid drug shortages and ethical concerns surrounding capital punishment. As states explore alternatives, courts continue to weigh the constitutional implications of emerging techniques. Judge Marks encapsulated the dilemma in her ruling, noting that while the Constitution does not guarantee a painless death, all parties must confront the inherent risks of pain when carrying out capital sentences.