Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has set an execution date of June 11 for Jeffery James Lee, a convicted murderer who was found guilty of killing Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson during a robbery at Ellis’s pawn shop in 1998. However, Lee’s lawyers have filed a lawsuit challenging the use of nitrogen gas for executions, arguing that it violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. A federal judge has scheduled a bench trial for April 27 to address this issue.
The use of nitrogen gas for executions began in Alabama in 2024, where a gas mask is utilized to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, leading to death by oxygen deprivation. This method has been employed in eight executions nationwide, predominantly in Alabama and once in Louisiana.
Lee was convicted on two counts of capital murder for the deaths of Ellis and Thompson. Despite a jury’s recommendation of a life sentence by a narrow margin of 7-5, a judge overruled and sentenced Lee to death. Notably, Alabama discontinued the practice of judicial override in 2017, ensuring that judges cannot disregard a jury’s sentencing decision in death penalty cases.
