The Supreme Court has rejected Alabama's bid to execute death row inmate Kenneth Smith by lethal injection, leaving in place a lower court ruling that his preference for lethal gas is a viable alternative method. This marks the first time an inmate has been allowed to choose an execution method other than lethal injection, as the state has authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Smith in November, allowing him to choose nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative to lethal injection.