Alabama put a man to death on Thursday. The state had tried to use nitrogen gas, but a judge blocked it just three months ago, according to the New York Post. So they switched methods. Jeffery Lee, 49, died at 6:22 p.m. inside the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. He killed two people in 1998. He paid for it with his life.
The crime happened on Dec. 12, 1998, at Jimmy’s Pawn Shop in Orrville. Lee entered the store asking to see wedding rings. He said he would return with money from his grandmother. He came back with a sawed-off shotgun. He shot the owner, Jimmy Ellis, and an employee, Elaine Thompson. Another worker survived by playing dead.
Lee was convicted in 2000. The jury voted 7-5 to give him life in prison. But the judge ignored them. He sentenced Lee to death. This legal override was the main reason for the delay. Lee’s lawyers argued the state could not change how he died. The US Supreme Court denied his request to stop the execution on Thursday.
Lee spoke just before the injection started. He clenched his fists on the gurney. His spiritual adviser held his feet and prayed. Lee closed his eyes and never opened them again. His last words were clear. He said, “All is well. I just want to say to my family, I love them.”
Alabama officials said justice was done. Gov. Kay Ivey issued a statement about the victims. She stated that tonight, for his victims Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson and their loved ones who long-awaited his sentence to be carried out, that promise was fulfilled. Attorney General Steve Marshall added his own words. He stated that in June, after Mr. Lee tried to evade his deserved death sentence, he reasserted his pledge that justice would eventually be served.
The path to this moment was not straight. Lee was originally set to die by nitrogen gas on June 11. A judge ruled that method was cruel and unusual. The state had to find a new way. They filed paperwork on June 12 to set a new date. They chose lethal injection instead. The execution happened 98 days after the gas plan failed.
Lee’s supporters argued the death sentence was wrong. They pointed to the jury’s vote for life. One lawyer observed that his death sentence rested solely on judicial override, an old law Alabama has repealed. This represents a moral failure rather than merely a legal formality. The state did not listen.
This was the second execution in Alabama this year. Lee’s death ends a case that started decades ago. The surviving witness from the pawnshop had called 911. That call led to the arrest. The court process took decades. The final act took place on Thursday.
