Brewer v. State of Alabama

John Brewer, a death row inmate in Alabama, was convicted of capital murder for a 2018 robbery-homicide. His execution was set for January 26, 2026, using nitrogen hypoxia, a method in which the inmate breathes pure nitrogen to cause oxygen deprivation. Brewer sued the State of Alabama and prison officials under 42 U.S.C. §1983, arguing the protocol carried a substantial risk of severe pain and psychological torture due to potential mask leakage and inadequate oxygen purge, thus violating the Eighth Amendment. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama denied a preliminary injunction, and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed. Brewer sought emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 6-3 ruling issued on the day of the execution, the Court vacated a temporary stay, holding that Brewer failed to demonstrate a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits. Brewer was executed by nitrogen hypoxia at Holman Correctional Facility that evening. Witnesses reported convulsive movements, reigniting debate over the method.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 emergency decision, vacated the temporary stay granted by a circuit judge and denied Brewer's application for a stay. Brewer was executed by nitrogen hypoxia on January 26, 2026.

Whether Alabama's nitrogen hypoxia execution protocol, as applied to John Brewer, constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment, and whether the inmate was entitled to a stay of execution to fully litigate the claim.

The execution intensified international and domestic scrutiny of nitrogen hypoxia. Human rights organizations, the United Nations, and the European Union condemned the method as experimental and inhumane. The case deepened public divides over execution transparency and the limits of the Eighth Amendment. Several states reconsidered their lethal gas protocols, and medical associations renewed ethical warnings against physician participation. Brewer v. State of Alabama became a landmark reference in ongoing death penalty abolition debates.