US Supreme Court leaves stay against Alabama’s nitrogen gas executions in place

The U.S. Supreme Court denied Alabama's request to stay a lower court ruling that found the state's nitrogen gas execution protocol unconstitutional, blocking Jeffery Lee's scheduled execution. Lee was convicted of two 1998 murders, but his death sentence was imposed by a judge despite a jury's life imprisonment recommendation. The court's decision upheld concerns about the protocol's potential for causing pain, though it did not issue written opinions.