MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- Alabama is waging a last-minute legal fight to execute a man with nitrogen gas on Thursday night, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to set aside a judge's findings that the method violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Alabama's nitrogen protocol is unconstitutional and blocked the state from using it to execute Jeffery Lee, 49. The Alabama attorney general's office is appealing the decision. The outcome of the eleventh-hour legal battle will determine if Lee's execution goes forward Thursday night with nitrogen gas. It could also help determine the future of the controversial execution method Alabama began using in 2024.