Supreme Court Blocks Alabama’s Nitrogen Execution of Jeffery Lee

The Supreme Court stopped Alabama from executing Jeffery Lee with nitrogen gas, following lower court decisions deeming it unconstitutional due to the cruel and unusual punishment clause. Alabama had sought an emergency order for the execution, scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. local time. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch disagreed with the decision and supported Alabama’s request.

Lee, convicted for a murder during a pawnshop robbery in 1998, remains on death row. While spared execution by nitrogen, Alabama may explore other methods. It’s uncertain how quickly alternative methods will be pursued.

Earlier, a federal judge in Alabama initially deemed the nitrogen method constitutional. However, Lee’s team appealed. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision, stating nitrogen executions likely breach the Eighth Amendment. It directed the district court to examine the feasibility of a firing squad.

Alabama, after lower courts ruled for Lee, filed an emergency application with the Supreme Court. The high court has previously upheld methods like lethal injection and firing squad. However, nitrogen executions have been contentious since Alabama adopted them in early 2024.

The nitrogen hypoxia method involves inmates inhaling gas through a mask while strapped to a gurney, leading to oxygen deprivation. Alabama claimed it causes a rapid, humane death. Critics, including the American Thoracic Society, oppose it, citing it as causing extreme suffering.

Witnesses report seeing inmates struggle and gasp for air during such executions. A previous nitrogen execution of Anthony Boyd took 30 minutes, drawing dissent from Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who argued it contradicts the Eighth Amendment.

Alabama, leading in nitrogen executions with seven cases, faces challenges in sourcing lethal injection drugs. Meanwhile, Lee requested death by firing squad, illegal in Alabama, after being sentenced for the murders of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson.

During a robbery at Jimmy’s Pawn Shop in 1998, Lee killed Ellis, wounded another, and was remorseful over the years, expressing redemption through faith. Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall is committed to seeing Lee’s execution carried out.

Lee’s legal team has requested a sentence commutation from Gov. Kay Ivey, highlighting a judicial override that sentenced him to death despite a jury’s life-without-parole recommendation in 2000. The override practice was abolished in 2017, but past cases were not retroactively affected.