U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Nitrogen Gas Execution in Alabama.
In this method, the condemned person is supplied with nitrogen gas through a mask, resulting in death by suffocation. A federal court ruled against the use of nitrogen on Tuesday, a decision that Alabama appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court did not provide reasoning for its decision, which is typical in emergency rulings.
Nitrogen inhalation as an execution method has been condemned by UN experts as cruel and inhuman. Five prisoners were executed using this method in the United States last year out of a record total of 47 executions nationwide.
The number of executions worldwide reached its highest level in 44 years, Amnesty International reported. Executions globally rose to the highest figure recorded by the organization since 1981, with 2,707 executions in 17 countries, according to its latest annual death penalty report. In Alabama alone, five executions were carried out, the same number as in South Carolina and Texas. The most commonly used method was lethal injection, used in 39 executions last year.