In the case of Terry Stewart, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections et al. v. Walter LaGrand in 1998, the U.S Supreme Court was asked to consider whether a prisoner on death row has a constitutional right to choose his method of execution and if it is cruel and unusual punishment for a state to refuse that choice. The case arose when Walter LaGrand, who had been sentenced to death by lethal gas in Arizona, requested that he be executed by lethal injection instead. The court ruled against LaGrand stating that there was no established constitutional right for an inmate under sentence of death to choose the manner in which the sentence will be carried out.

In the dissenting opinion for Terry Stewart, Director, Arizona Department of Corrections v. Walter LaGrand case in 1998, Justice Stevens argued that the majority's decision to allow execution by lethal gas was a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. He pointed out that there were other methods available which could achieve death without causing unnecessary pain or suffering. Furthermore, he criticized the court for not giving due consideration to international law and norms regarding capital punishment. In his view, this lack of regard undermined America’s standing in global human rights issues as well as its commitment to uphold these standards domestically.