A death row prisoner who was set to be executed this week has been spared — for now.
Jeffrey Lee, 49, has been incarcerated in the state of Alabama for almost three decades and was supposed to receive nitrogen gas to end his life.
However, a federal court ruled that Alabama’s use of the execution method violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Therefore, a district court judge agreed to stop the execution.
After receiving the news, Lee said from William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore that he experienced a ‘sigh of relief.’
But, that he still has to ‘maintain [his] focus and continue to fight.’
Lee, who was scheduled to be the ninth person in the US to be put to death with nitrogen gas, said: ‘Fear not, I am not finished, and just, you know, to me, my faith is everything.’
Why is Jeffrey Lee on death row?
Lee was convicted of the 1998 killings of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson. Plus, the attempted murder of Helen King during a robbery of Jimmy’s Pawn Shop.
Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a statement on June 8 in opposition to any grant of clemency to Lee, where he recounted the murders.
‘On December 12, 1998, Jeffery Lee walked into Jimmy’s Pawn Shop in Orrville, Alabama, and murdered Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson.
‘He drank liquor and smoked a marijuana cigarette laced with cocaine before arming himself with a sawed-off shotgun and opening fire, killing both victims and wounding a third.
‘He left the murder weapon on the counter and fled to Georgia, where he was apprehended the following morning.’
Lee confessed, and the surviving victim identified him as the perpetrator.
Lee was found guilty of the murder in 2000, and a jury sentenced him to life without parole. However, a judge overturned this and handed him the death penalty in a now-outlawed practice in Alabama called ‘judicial override.’
Marshall concluded his statement by remembering the victims.
He said: ‘I think of the hopes and dreams of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson, the futures and the lives with their families that were senselessly taken from them by Jeffery Lee’s premeditated and cruel actions. Their voices were silenced on December 12, 1998.’
What is Nitrogen hypoxia?
Nitrogen gas is used to cause nitrogen hypoxia, a condition that occurs when high concentrations of nitrogen gas are inhaled, leading to a lack of oxygen in the body.
Prisoners are strapped to a gurney or execution chair, before a mask is placed over their face, covering the nose and mouth. Pure, 100% nitrogen gas is then pumped into the mask, replacing the breathable air.
The method is meant to induce unconsciousness within seconds and brain death shortly after.
However, there have been many human rights concerns since the practice started being used on death row inmates. For example, the United Nations suggested it may constitute ‘cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment’ or even torture.
Medical professionals have said it induces severe ‘air hunger.’
While discussing Lee’s case in a three-day bench trial back in February, U.S. District Judge Emily Marks said death by nitrogen gas can cause ‘extreme emotional distress, panic, anxiety, and fear.’
Marks later said in May: ‘Indeed, many people find air hunger “worse than pain” because it is associated with the fear of dying.’
Lee had already filed a lawsuit challenging the use of nitrogen the previous August.
Instead, he requested to executed by firing squad. Marshall, who filed an appeal to carry out his execution using nitrogen gas, expressed concerns over the firing squad.
In his appeal, he said that Alabama may find it difficult to find five people willing to shoot Lee. He also stated that the shooters could miss thetarget placed over the heart, using previous South Carolina death row inmate, Mikal Mahdi, as an example.
There was controversy over this case, as an autopsy found the firing squad execution could have been ‘botched.’
The Death Penalty Information Centre stated that ‘pathologists reported that not only did Mr. Mahdi have two wounds as opposed to the anticipated three wounds from three South Carolina Corrections Department (SCDC) shooters, but also that they missed the intended target over his heart, prolonging his death.’
Alabama was the first state to implement and carry out an execution using nitrogen hypoxia, the first taking place in 2024. This was Kenneth Smith, who reportedly took over 20 minutes to die, writhing and convulsing on the gurney.
Since then, seven deaths using the method have been carried out there.
The last inmate to be executed this way was in April 2025.