On Friday, Alabama moved forward with plans to execute Jeffery Lee using lethal injection after an attempt to execute him with nitrogen hypoxia was halted. The Alabama Attorney General’s office requested the state Supreme Court issue a death warrant, switching from the nitrogen method.
“In sum, ADOC has not been barred from executing Lee, only from executing him by nitrogen hypoxia,” stated state lawyers. This came after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to lift an injunction that blocked the nitrogen hypoxia execution, citing constitutional concerns over cruel and unusual punishment.
Alabama’s lethal injection plan follows the judicial roadblock against nitrogen gas, although the decision did not prevent other execution methods like lethal injection or the electric chair.
Lee, convicted for a double murder during a 1998 pawn shop robbery, has been on death row since his sentence. His jury initially voted 7-2 for a life sentence, but the presiding judge opted for the death penalty through a now-outlawed practice called “judicial override.” This practice was abolished in Alabama in 2017.
Legal scrutiny continues around Alabama’s nitrogen gas protocol, with further trials set for 2027. The state’s main execution method, lethal injection, has faced criticism for botched attempts, prompting the development of nitrogen gas as an alternative execution method.
A spokesman for Lee’s legal team did not comment immediately, indicating the next step would be their response at the state Supreme Court.
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