An Alabama man facing the death penalty by nitrogen gas was spared Thursday as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to set aside a lower-court ruling that found the method is unconstitutionally cruel, issuing a brief order that came well after the hour originally planned to initiate Jeffery Lee's execution.

The unsigned decision for now spares Jeffery Lee, a convicted murderer, and could lead to a broader fight over the relatively new execution method.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Alabama's plans to execute a death row inmate using nitrogen gas appeared to be thwarted Tuesday by a federal judge permanently blocking the state from using that method, declaring it violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.