A judge has blocked the lethal execution of a death row inmate after ruling he "likely faces irreparable injury" if he is not executed by his requested method.
Alabama death row inmate Alan Eugene Miller requested to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia as he has a fear of needles.
The never-before-tried method was approved in the state of Alabama in 2018, but has yet to be tried on a real prisoner.
Miller was convicted of killing three men in a workplace shooting in 1999 and was sentenced to death.
His execution date was set for this Thursday, but on Tuesday US District Judge R. Austin Huffaker issued a preliminary injunction blocking Alabama from putting Miller to death as previously scheduled.
The judge found that the state likely lost Miller's paperwork requesting to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia.
The judge wrote: "Miller will likely suffer irreparable injury if an injunction does not issue because he will be deprived of the ability to die by the method he chose and instead will be forced to die by a method he sought to avoid and which he asserts will be painful."
He added that the injury will be "the loss of his 'final dignity' —to choose how he will die".
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshal filed a notice earlier today to appeal the decision.
Miller's lawyers filed an injunction earlier this month to stop the execution saying his rights have been violated.
Under a 2018 state law, death row inmates may choose nitrogen hypoxia for execution.
Miller says he submitted his request in June 2018, which was before the July 2018 deadline.
In his motion to stay the execution, Miller's legal team argued that previous lethal injections were painful and inhumane.
Under nitrogen hypoxia, it slowly replaces nitrogen for oxygen in the inmate's air supply and is said to be a more human form of execution.
Those under it will lose consciousness in 15 seconds, brain function ceases 30 seconds later and the heart stops within two to three minutes.
Miller testified on September 12 that he had filled out the paperwork in time and left it in the slot of his cell door, but has no idea what happened afterwards.
State corrections officials say they never got his paperwork and argued that Miller is just trying to postpone his death sentence.
Miller has not argued that he should not be executed.
State corrections officials say that they never got his paperwork. They argued last week that Miller is just trying to put off his death sentence.
The judge wrote: "It is substantially likely that Miller timely elected nitrogen hypoxia.
"From all that appears, the State intends to announce its readiness to conduct executions by nitrogen hypoxia in the upcoming weeks."
