Virginia Governor Tim Kaine announced Tuesday that executions in the state will be temporarily halted until the Supreme Court rules on whether lethal injections are a form of cruel and unusual punishment.

Kaine said future executions will be put on hold until the Supreme Court rules in the case of Baze v. Rees, which was argued in January. A decision could come before the court adjourns in June, according to the Washington Post.

Kaine's decision is symbolic because the Supreme Court has not allowed an execution since it took up Baze v. Rees, which centers on challenges from two death-row inmates in Kentucky, who say their Eighth Amendment rights would be violated if they were to die by lethal injection, according to the Post.

D.C. does not allow the death penalty and Maryland has had a moratorium on capital punishment since 2006, when Maryland's highest court ruled that state procedures for lethal injections had not been properly adopted.

Kaine said about 30 executions nationwide have been stayed since September, either by the Supreme Court, lower courts or governors.

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