MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday set a June 11 execution date for Jeffery James Lee, a 49-year-old man convicted of killing two people during a 1998 pawn shop robbery in Alabama, as he continues to challenge the state’s use of nitrogen gas as an execution method.
Lee was convicted of two counts of capital murder for the Dec. 12, 1998 killings of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson at a pawn shop owned by Ellis near Orrville. Prosecutors said Lee entered the store with a sawed-off shotgun and shot both victims during the robbery.
The state scheduled the execution while Lee pursues a federal lawsuit contesting the humaneness of nitrogen gas executions, arguing the method violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. A federal judge set an April 27 bench trial to hear the case. Lee’s attorneys had asked the Alabama Supreme Court to delay setting an execution date until after the court resolves the challenge.
Alabama began using nitrogen gas for executions in 2024. The method places a gas mask over the inmate’s face and replaces breathable air with pure nitrogen, causing death by lack of oxygen. Officials have used the method eight times nationwide, including seven executions in Alabama and one in Louisiana.
A jury initially voted 7-5 to sentence Lee to life imprisonment. However, a judge overrode the recommendation and imposed a death sentence. Alabama abolished judicial override in death penalty cases in 2017, ending the practice of allowing judges to disregard jury sentencing decisions.
