Ivey set Mr. Lee’s exe­cu­tion by lethal injec­tion for September 17, 2026, just over three months after an Alabama fed­er­al judge per­ma­nent­ly blocked the state from using its nitro­gen gas protocol. Counsel for Mr. Lee argues that the state should not be per­mit­ted to exe­cute their client by lethal injec­tion because of a 2018 agree­ment entered between Mr. Lee and the state. ​“After los­ing twice in fed­er­al court, Alabama now revives the very lethal injec­tion method it promised to aban­don. Mr. Lee’s coun­sel also empha­sizes anoth­er unique aspect of Mr. Lee’s case. At tri­al, Mr. Lee’s jury vot­ed 7 – 5 to rec­om­mend a life sen­tence with­out the pos­si­bil­i­ty of parole.