In brief
The Supreme Court denied Alabama’s emergency request to execute Jeffery Lee with nitrogen gas, following two lower courts that had already banned the method as cruel and unusual punishment. The brief order was issued without explanation, but Justice Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented, indicating a willingness to approve the state’s request. Alabama’s high prosecutor described the halt as a miscarriage of justice and said the state would pursue alternative execution methods. The decision comes after a federal judge permanently banned nitrogen hypoxia executions this week after expert testimony. Lee, convicted of a 1998 pawnshop robbery murder, has been on death row for over two decades and can now face execution by another method.
By Nardine Saad – 13 hours ago
The US Supreme Court denied an emergency appeal by the state of Alabama that would have allowed death row inmate Jeffery Lee to be executed by nitrogen gas. The order was issued without comment, but three justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — dissented, indicating they would have granted the state’s request.
Alabama has used nitrogen hypoxia to carry out seven executions since its introduction in January 2024. This method, where an inmate breathes pure nitrogen until they suffocate, was recently permanently banned by a federal judge after a bench‑trial that found it likely violated the Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Experts testified that the process causes “severe air hunger and emotional distress” before death.
The state’s top prosecutor called the halt a “miscarriage of justice” for the families of Lee’s victims, while Alabama’s attorney‑general, Steve Marshall, said the state was prepared to “see Mr. Lee’s lawful sentence carried out” even if an alternative method had to be used.
Lee, aged 49, was convicted of murdering two people during a 1998 pawnshop robbery. He has been on Alabama’s death row for more than two decades. A jury’s recommendation of life imprisonment was overturned by a judge using an abolished judicial override procedure, which set the death sentence.
Alabama can still attempt to execute Lee using another method. The Supreme Court’s intervention, however, solidifies the growing legal and ethical opposition to nitrogen gas as a form of capital punishment.
Read more about the controversies surrounding the method at Why has Alabama executed a man using nitrogen gas?
