A federal judge has permanently blocked Alabama from executing death row inmate Jeffery Lee by nitrogen gas, ruling the method constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. Constitution. The decision follows an appeals court reversal and hinges on evidence that the method causes severe air hunger, distress, and anxiety. While the state is expected to appeal, possibly to the Supreme Court, the judge noted Lee could still be executed by alternative methods, including lethal injection, electric chair, or firing squad. Alabama has used nitrogen gas in seven prior executions, amid ongoing legal and ethical debate over its humaneness.

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