Jeffery Lee breathes ‘sigh of relief’ after Alabama’s nitrogen execution is deemed unconstitutional

Moments after a federal judge permanently blocked Jeffery Lee’s execution by nitrogen gas in Alabama, Lee told NBC News he was prepared to keep fighting.

A death row prisoner whose planned execution Thursday was suddenly halted became emotional when he learned that a federal court had ruled Alabama’s use of nitrogen gas violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

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“It’s like an expected sigh of relief in one aspect, and then you still got to stay and maintain your focus and continue to fight,” Jeffery Lee, who has been on death row for nearly three decades, said by phone Tuesday. He spoke from the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, moments after a district court judge agreed to stop his execution.

“Fear not, I am not finished, and just, you know, to me, my faith is everything,” said Lee, 49.