The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to overrule a federal judge’s order that blocked Alabama from executing an inmate accused of murder with nitrogen gas.
Jeffery Lee was set to be executed at 6 p.m. Thursday local time under Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia protocol, but the state chose not to proceed with the execution until the Supreme Court intervened.
The high court voted 6-3 to leave the lower court’s stay against the method in place. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch represented the three votes that sided with Alabama. The court did not provide an explanation.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Emily Marks declared nitrogen hypoxia unconstitutional one day after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed her initial decision from May in favor of the execution method. The federal appeals court reasoned there was a “substantial risk of serious harm” from nitrogen hypoxia.
Marks originally determined the protocol did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, which is banned by the Eighth Amendment.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall promptly appealed the federal judge’s second ruling to the Supreme Court this week. The appeal was ultimately unsuccessful.
Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) expressed her disappointment with the Supreme Court’s decision late Thursday.
“Jeffery Lee was convicted and sentenced to death for the December 1998 murder-robbery of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson in Dallas County,” she said. “While I am disappointed the Supreme Court did not allow the state to proceed with Lee’s chosen method of execution, I remain committed to ensuring that justice is ultimately served for his victims.”
Ivey’s office noted the Supreme Court did not overturn Lee’s death sentence, effectively allowing his execution date to be rescheduled.
Lee’s lawyers celebrated the legal victory in their client’s case.
JUDGE PERMANENTLY BLOCKS ALABAMA FROM EXECUTING INMATE WITH NITROGEN GAS
“His jury voted for life,” they said. “Two courts ruled the method unconstitutional. Today, the Constitution prevailed. Now Gov. Ivey can finish what the jury started: restore the jury’s verdict of life without parole.”
Alabama is one of five states where execution by nitrogen gas is legal, alongside Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. Alabama was the first state to authorize its use, championing the capital punishment method and taking it all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in the state’s favor in 2024.
