Georgia Judge Stays Execution And Alabama Inmate Set For Lethal Injection After Nitrogen Ban
A Georgia judge stayed an execution pending a hearing under a new state law that could spare the inmate's life.[1]
Alabama scheduled inmate Jeffery Lee to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Thursday at William C. Holman Correctional Facility after a federal judge blocked the state's planned nitrogen execution.[2]
U.S. District Judge Emily Marks in June found Alabama's nitrogen protocol unconstitutionally cruel and barred its use on Lee.[2] After that ruling, Alabama's attorney general sought a new date and said Lee would be put to death by lethal injection.[2] Lee's lawyers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution while it considers whether Alabama may switch methods.[2] Supporters held a "HONOR THE JURY" clemency rally at the Alabama Capitol on Tuesday, September 15.[2]
Lee was convicted of capital murder and attempted murder for a December 12, 1998, pawnshop robbery in Orrville, Alabama.[2] Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson were shot and killed and a third employee survived by playing dead during the attack.[2] The jury in Lee's 2000 trial voted 7-5 to recommend life without parole, but the judge overrode the jury and imposed a death sentence.[2] Alabama abolished judicial override for new cases in 2017 but did not make the change retroactive.[2]
In related execution news, Texas executed 40-year-old LeJames Norman at the Huntsville state penitentiary for a 2005 triple murder during a botched robbery.[3] Norman was pronounced dead at 6:44 p.m. after receiving pentobarbital and declined to make a final statement when asked by the warden.[3] He was the fifth person executed in Texas this year, and his co-defendant Ker'Sean Ramey remains scheduled to die next week.[3]
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📌 Key Facts
- Texas executed 40-year-old inmate LeJames Norman by lethal injection at the Huntsville state penitentiary on Wednesday evening, September 16, 2026, for a 2005 triple murder during a botched robbery.
- Norman was convicted of killing Samuel Roberts, Tiffani Peacock and Celso Lopez in their Edna, Texas home while searching for cocaine that was never found.
- He pleaded guilty to capital murder, was sentenced to death by a jury, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied his attorneys' last-minute request to halt the execution on September 16, 2026.
- Co-defendant Ker'Sean Ramey was also sentenced to death for the same crime, and his execution was scheduled for next week.
- Norman declined to make a final statement when asked by the warden and was pronounced dead at 6:44 p.m. after receiving pentobarbital; he was the fifth person executed in Texas in 2026.
- Alabama scheduled the execution of inmate Jeffery Lee (49) by lethal injection at 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at William C. Holman Correctional Facility.
- In June 2026, U.S. District Judge Emily Marks blocked Alabama from executing Lee with nitrogen gas, ruling the state's nitrogen protocol unconstitutionally cruel under the Eighth Amendment and barring its use on him.
- After the nitrogen-gas protocol was struck down, the Alabama attorney general's office sought a new date to carry out Lee's execution by lethal injection.
- Lee was convicted of capital murder and attempted murder for a December 12, 1998, pawnshop robbery in Orrville, Alabama in which Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson were shot and killed and a third employee survived by playing dead.
- The jury in Lee's 2000 trial voted 7–5 to recommend life without parole but the judge overrode the recommendation and imposed a death sentence; Alabama abolished judicial override for new cases in 2017 but did not make the change retroactive, and supporters held a "HONOR THE JURY" clemency rally outside the Alabama Capitol on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
📰 Source Timeline (3)
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- On Thursday, September 17, 2026, Alabama scheduled the execution of inmate Jeffery Lee, 49, by lethal injection at 6 p.m. at William C. Holman Correctional Facility.
- In June 2026 U.S. District Judge Emily Marks blocked Alabama from executing Lee with nitrogen gas, ruling the state's nitrogen protocol unconstitutionally cruel under the Eighth Amendment and barring its use on him.
- After the nitrogen-gas protocol was struck down, the Alabama attorney general's office sought a new date for Lee to be executed by lethal injection instead.
- Lee was convicted of capital murder and attempted murder for a December 12, 1998, pawnshop robbery in Orrville, Alabama, in which Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson were shot and killed and a third employee survived by playing dead.
- The jury in Lee's 2000 trial voted 7-5 to recommend life without parole, but the judge overrode the recommendation and imposed a death sentence; Alabama abolished judicial override for new cases in 2017 but did not make the change retroactive.
- Lee is one of about two dozen Alabama death row prisoners sentenced to death despite jury recommendations for life, and supporters held a "HONOR THE JURY" clemency rally outside the Alabama Capitol on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
- Lee's attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution to consider whether Alabama may switch his method of execution from nitrogen gas to lethal injection after earlier litigation over lethal injection was dismissed based on a nitrogen agreement.
- Texas executed 40-year-old inmate LeJames Norman by lethal injection at the Huntsville state penitentiary on Wednesday evening, September 16, 2026, for a 2005 triple murder during a botched robbery.
- Norman was convicted of killing Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, in their Edna, Texas home, about 100 miles southwest of Houston, while searching for cocaine that was never found.
- He pleaded guilty to capital murder and was sentenced to death by a jury; the U.S. Supreme Court denied his attorneys' last-minute request to halt the execution on September 16, 2026.
- Co-defendant Ker'Sean Ramey was also sentenced to death for the same crime, and his execution is scheduled for next week.
- Norman declined to make a final statement when asked by the warden, and was pronounced dead at 6:44 p.m. after receiving pentobarbital; he was the fifth person executed in Texas in 2026.