The southwestern US state of Arizona executed a prisoner for a 1989 murder late Tuesday, after the US Supreme Court ruled the state can use a non-approved drug for the lethal injection amid a US shortage.

Jeffrey Landrigan was pronounced dead in the state prison in Florence at 10:26 pm Tuesday, KVOA News 4 in Tucson, Arizona reported. A KVOA reporter witnessed the execution.

In a 5-4 ruling late Tuesday, the US high court said a lower court wrongfully blocked Landrigan's execution after officials refused to reveal where they got the necessary drugs and as questions remained about their safety.

"There is no evidence in the record to suggest that the drug obtained from a foreign source is unsafe," the Supreme Court said.

"There was no showing that the drug was unlawfully obtained, nor was there an offer of proof to that effect."

A federal appeals court that blocked the execution had earlier confirmed the drug came from an unidentified foreign manufacturer not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Arizona Attorney General's office has said the drug substitute came from a manufacturer in Britain.