MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WDNews) — Alabama executed convicted double-murderer Jeffery Lee by lethal injection at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, according to Attorney General Steve Marshall.
Marshall cleared the execution to begin at 6:08 p.m. Lee was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.
Lee was convicted in the 1998 shooting deaths of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson during a robbery at Jimmy’s Pawn Shop in Orrville. A third victim, Helen King, was wounded but survived.
“Twenty-seven years ago, Jimmy Ellis’s and Elaine Thompson’s lives were stolen,” Marshall said. “They were victims of a senseless, violent robbery-murder. Justice was finally served.”
According to the attorney general’s office, Lee entered the pawn shop Dec. 12, 1998, and asked about purchasing a ring. He later returned with a sawed-off shotgun while two accomplices waited outside.
Authorities said Lee shot Ellis, Thompson and King before trying unsuccessfully to open the cash register. He then left the shotgun on the store counter and walked out.
King pretended to be dead until Lee left. She then locked the door and called 911. Authorities said Lee tried to re-enter the store but was unable to because the door was locked.
Lee fled to Newnan, Georgia, and was arrested early the following morning in Coweta County. The attorney general’s office said he later signed a confession.
“The case against Jeffery Lee was overwhelming and unambiguous,” Marshall said. “Surveillance footage captured him firing shots. Eyewitnesses confirmed what the camera recorded. And in his own admission, he signed a confession.”
Lee was unanimously convicted April 12, 2000, on four charges, including three counts of capital murder. He was sentenced to death, and his conviction and sentence were upheld through the appeals process.
“Nothing can give back what was taken from Jimmy and Elaine and their families, but today we proved that every innocent life is worth fighting for, no matter how long it takes,” Marshall said.
