What to know about the evolution of execution methods in the US

Alabama’s plans to execute a death row inmate using nitrogen gas appeared to be thwarted by a federal judge permanently blocking the state from using that method, declaring it violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.U.S. District Judge Emily C. Marks issued the decision Tuesday, permanently enjoining the state from executing Jeffery Lee by nitrogen gas. Lee was scheduled to be executed Thursday at an Alabama prison.A spokesman for Alabama Attorney General