Alabama executed Jeffery Lee by lethal injection on September 17, 2026, for a double murder committed during a robbery in 1998. Lee, 49, was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. This execution was the second in Alabama for the year, with a total of 27 executions carried out across the United States in 2026.
Lee was convicted of killing Jimmy Ellis, the owner of Jimmy’s Pawn Shop, and Elaine Thompson, an employee, during a robbery on December 12, 1998, in Orrville, Alabama. Another employee survived by pretending to be dead. Lee's execution followed a failed clemency bid, where his supporters argued that the jury had recommended a life sentence, which the judge overrode.
In his final words, Lee expressed love for his family and friends on death row. As the execution began, he clenched his fists and closed his eyes. The execution was conducted 98 days after a judge blocked the state from executing him by nitrogen gas, ruling that the method violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Lee had initially been scheduled for execution on June 11, 2026, by nitrogen gas, but the U.S. Supreme Court declined to lift the judge’s ruling.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall stated that “justice was finally served” following the execution. Governor Kay Ivey noted that the execution fulfilled a promise to the victims' families. Lee's attorneys criticized the execution, stating that it was based on a judicial override of the jury's recommendation, a practice Alabama abolished in 2017 but did not apply retroactively.
The surviving witness testified that Lee had entered the store asking to see wedding rings before returning with a shotgun and shooting the victims. Ellis, known for his resemblance to Elvis Presley, had a brief career as an Elvis impersonator and was the subject of a documentary in 2015. Lee was convicted of capital murder and attempted murder in 2000. The U.S. Supreme Court denied his request to stay the execution on the grounds of the lethal injection protocol, allowing the execution to proceed.