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Supreme Court Denies Alabama’s Emergency Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court declines to lift the injunction, effectively canceling Lee’s scheduled execution by nitrogen gas. Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent.
District Court Issues Permanent Injunction
On remand, Judge Marks reevaluates the case and permanently enjoins Alabama from executing Jeffery Lee with nitrogen gas, noting the firing squad as a viable, less painful alternative.
11th Circuit Reverses, Calls Nitrogen Process ‘Intolerable’
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the three-minute period of potential suffering makes the method cruel and unusual, reversing the district court.
District Court Initially Upholds Nitrogen Protocol
Judge Emily Marks rules that Alabama’s nitrogen-hypoxia method is constitutional, allowing the execution to proceed.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene reinforces the Eighth Amendment’s requirement that inmates can challenge execution methods if they prove an alternative significantly reduces pain. The 11th Circuit’s focus on the three-minute unconsciousness window under nitrogen hypoxia sets a new appellate standard, and the case may prompt states to reconsider alternative methods like firing squad.