The Case
On the morning of December 12, 1998, after an all-night binge of drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, and ingesting cocaine, Jeffery Lee went with his brother and cousin to Jimmy’s Pawn Shop outside Orrville, Alabama. The stated purpose of the visit was for Jeffery to look at a ring for his girlfriend.
Inside the shop, Jeffery examined the jewelry on display and spoke with an employee, Helen King, about wedding rings. He said he did not have money with him and told her he would return after getting money from his grandmother. Jeffery then left the store, purchased a pint of liquor, and departed with his brother and cousin. The three drove a short distance away, where Jeffery consumed the liquor and smoked marijuana laced with cocaine.
Minutes later, they returned to Jimmy’s Pawn Shop.
Jeffery entered the store armed with a sawed-off shotgun and fired repeatedly at the store’s owner, Jimmy Ellis, and two employees, Helen King and Elaine Thompson. Ellis and Thompson were killed by shotgun blasts. King was wounded but survived.
After the shooting, Jeffery moved through the store and attempted to remove the cash register but was unable to do so. He left the shop with the weapon still inside. Ellis and Thompson lay dead from their injuries. King remained on the floor until Jeffery left the store, then locked the door and called 911. Jeffery returned briefly and attempted to reenter the shop but was unable to do so because the door had been locked.
Jeffery left the scene with the two individuals who had accompanied him. They traveled to Georgia and rented a motel room in Newnan. Later that day, Jeffery separated from his brother and cousin, who returned to Alabama, while Jeffery remained in the motel. He was arrested by law enforcement officers at approximately 4:30 a.m. on December 13, 1998, in Coweta County, Georgia. After his arrest, Jeffery signed a written confession.
Understanding the Charges and Sentence
Jeffery Lee was convicted of two counts of capital murder during the course of a robbery. Under Alabama law, this made him eligible for either life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
The jury, twelve citizens from Dallas County, voted on what sentence he should receive. Seven jurors believed he should spend the rest of his life in prison. Five jurors believed he should be sentenced to death.
Under the law at the time, that 7–5 vote was only a recommendation. The final decision belonged to the trial judge, who chose to impose death despite the jury's vote for life.
Jeffery has now been on Alabama's death row for over two decades under a sentence imposed by judicial override, a practice Alabama abolished in 2017.
appeals
After sentencing, Jeffery's case went through multiple levels of review in both state and federal courts. His legal team raised significant issues, including:
Whether his trial attorneys adequately investigated and presented evidence of mental health conditions and childhood trauma that might have influenced the jury's sentencing decision
Whether Alabama's judicial override system, which allowed a judge to overrule a jury's sentencing recommendation, violated constitutional protections
The courts ultimately denied relief, and Jeffery has now exhausted his standard appeals. Under Alabama law, there are no further automatic reviews.
His only remaining path is clemency, a power held by Alabama's governor to grant mercy when the legal system, even operating within its rules, has produced an unjust result.
case Timeline
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1998
Jeffery was arrested and gave a full confession.
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April 2000
At trial in Dallas County, the jury heard all evidence and deliberated on sentencing. They voted 7–5 to recommend Life Without Parole.
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October 2000
Despite the jury's recommendation, the trial judge used Alabama's judicial override power to impose a death sentence.
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2004 – 2017
Jeffery's appeals raised substantial issues, including inadequate consideration of mental health evidence and the constitutionality of Alabama's override system.
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2012
Jeffery exhausts his standard appeals.
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2017
The Alabama Legislature passed Senate Bill 16, abolishing judicial override. Governor Kay Ivey signed it into law, recognizing that judges should not have the power to overrule jury sentencing recommendations in capital cases.
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2026
Because the 2017 law was not applied retroactively, Jeffery remains on death row despite his jury's recommendation for life, one of approximately 30 people in Alabama sentenced under a system the state itself has since abolished as unjust. His fate now rests entirely with Alabama's executive branch.