SCOTUS Blocks Alabama Execution Hours Before Inmate Was Set To Die

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday night refused to let Alabama proceed with the scheduled execution of death row inmate Jeffery Lee by nitrogen gas, halting the state’s first planned execution of 2026 just hours before it was set to take place.

Lee, 49, had been scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. local time.

Instead, the nation’s highest court denied Alabama’s emergency request to move forward.

The justices did not provide a written explanation for the decision.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch indicated that they would have granted Alabama’s request and allowed the execution to proceed. That means at least six justices declined to side with the state.

The ruling represents a setback for Alabama officials and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, who expressed frustration after the decision.

“This evening the U.S. Supreme Court denied the state of Alabama the ability to execute death row inmate Jeffery Lee by nitrogen hypoxia,” Ivey’s office said in a statement.

Ivey said she remains committed to ensuring justice is ultimately carried out for the victims and their families.

“While I am disappointed the Supreme Court did not allow the state to proceed … I remain committed to ensuring that justice is ultimately served for his victims,” she said.

Lee was convicted in connection with a December 1998 attack at a pawnshop in Orrville, Alabama.

Prosecutors said Lee entered the business armed with a shotgun and killed owner Jimmy Ellis and employee Elaine Thompson. A third employee, Helen King, survived the attack.

Lee was later convicted of capital murder in Dallas County and sentenced to death.

The Supreme Court’s decision followed a series of lower court rulings earlier in the week over Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia execution protocol.

A federal district judge initially upheld the state’s protocol and found it constitutional. But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later reversed that decision.

The appeals court concluded that Alabama’s protocol could create a “substantial risk of serious harm” and potentially violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The case was sent back for additional review.

Alabama then filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court, asking the justices to allow the execution to proceed as scheduled. The court declined.

The ruling does not overturn Lee’s conviction or his death sentence. Alabama can still seek another execution date.

It remains unclear whether state officials will again pursue nitrogen gas or attempt another method permitted under state law.

Alabama became the first state to carry out executions using nitrogen hypoxia in 2024. The method uses nitrogen gas in place of breathable air, resulting in death through oxygen deprivation.

The state has used the procedure multiple times since adopting it, and the Supreme Court has previously allowed Alabama to proceed with nitrogen gas executions.

Thursday’s decision did not declare nitrogen hypoxia unconstitutional. Instead, it left in place the 11th Circuit’s concerns over Alabama’s specific execution protocol.

Lee originally selected nitrogen gas as his preferred method of execution. He later sought to be executed by firing squad instead, arguing that nitrogen hypoxia could cause unconstitutional suffering.

A firing squad is not currently authorized under Alabama law.

The case has also drawn scrutiny because of how Lee received his death sentence.

During sentencing, a jury voted 7-5 in favor of life in prison without parole rather than execution. A judge overrode that recommendation and imposed the death penalty.

Alabama abolished judicial override in capital cases in 2017, but the change was not made retroactive. That means death sentences imposed under the previous system remain in place.

As a result, Lee remains on death row under a sentencing process Alabama no longer permits for new cases.

The 11th Circuit’s ruling on Alabama’s nitrogen protocol remains under review, and further litigation is expected before the state can move forward, Newsweek reported.

For the families of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson, the Supreme Court’s decision means yet another delay in a case that has already stretched across more than two decades.

No new execution date has been announced.

The matter will now return to the lower courts for additional proceedings.