US judge halts execution by nitrogen gas, ruling it unconstitutional

A US federal judge has permanently blocked Alabama from executing an inmate with nitrogen gas, citing a ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The judge declared that nitrogen gas execution violates the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution. The state can still use lethal injection or the electric chair to execute the inmate, and the judge also ruled that the state can switch to a firing squad if desired. The case may ultimately be decided by the US Supreme Court.