The Nebraska Supreme Court rejected on Friday the use of the electric chair for executions and declared it to be unconstitutional, going against cruel and usual punishment. Nebraska is the only state out of the total of 36 that sustain death penalty to use electrocution instead of the lethal injection.

“It is the mark of a civilized society that we punish cruelty without practicing it,” the ruling said. “The evidence shows that electrocution inflicts intense pain and agonizing suffering. Therefore, electrocution as a method of execution is cruel and unusual punishment.”

The decision was taken by a 6 to 1 majority, and what that means for the time being is that Nebraska has no execution method in place. The attorney general said he would start the legal process to establish a new method of execution.

Nebraska has had only three executions since 1976, the last one taking place 11 years ago, and was the only state to keep electrocution as the sole method of execution. In seven other states, the electrocution could be used as an alternative to lethal injection, at the prisoner’s choice.

The United States Supreme Court is currently discussing the matter of the drug combination for the lethal injection, which some consider to be unconstitutional and induce excruciating pain to the prisoner. In this case, Nebraska could choose for a lethal injection similar cu euthanasia used by veterinarians, or opt for another method of execution.

The decision of the Nebraska Supreme Court took everyone by surprise, especially considering the fact that the United States Supreme Court never said the method would go against the Eight Amendment, which refers to cruel and unusual punishment.

The case was brought to the attention of the court by Raymond Mata Jr., who was found guilty of murder. In 2000 he kidnapped and killed Adam Gomez, the 3-year-old son of his ex-girlfriend, and evidence even pointed out to the fact that he fed the child to his dog.

“We recognize the temptation to make the prisoner suffer, just as the prisoner made an innocent victim suffer,” the ruling said, but that is not a reason to inflict an eye for an eye punishment. A new decision on execution methods is expected from the Nebraska Supreme Court.