Alabama's lethal injection chamber at Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., is pictured in this Oct. 7, 2002 file photo. Kenneth Smith, 58, is scheduled to be executed Jan. 25, 2024, at a south Alabama prison by nitrogen gas, a method that has never been used to put a person to death. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Friday, Jan. 19, in Smith's bid to stop the execution from going forward. (AP Photo/File)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama will be allowed to put an inmate to death with nitrogen gas, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, refusing to block what would be the nation’s first execution by a new method since 1982.