The U.S. Supreme Court has declined Alabama’s request to move forward with the execution of death row inmate Jeffery Lee using nitrogen gas. Lee, 49, had been scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Thursday for the December 1998 murder-robbery of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson in Dallas County.

Background of the Case

Lee filed a lawsuit challenging Alabama’s protocol as a violation of the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. U.S. District Judge Emily Marks initially ruled the method constitutional in May, but a three-judge panel from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed her decision, saying the three minutes it could take for an inmate to lose awareness is an “intolerable” time frame.

Alabama attorneys argued that blocking the state’s use of nitrogen hypoxia would mark an unprecedented restriction on a legislatively approved execution method. However, the Supreme Court declined the request, leaving in place the lower court’s order preventing Alabama from carrying out Lee’s execution by nitrogen gas.

Gov. Kay Ivey expressed disappointment with the decision, stating that she remains committed to ensuring justice is served for the victims. The ruling has drawn renewed attention to Alabama’s use of nitrogen hypoxia, an execution method that involves fitting a mask over an inmate’s face and replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death from oxygen deprivation.

Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.