Jefferson S. Dunn, Commissioner, Alabama Department of Corrections, et al., Applicants v. Christopher Lee Price

Argument & decision

Decided April 12, 2019. Opinion by Per Curiam.

Proceedings

1. Apr 12 2019
   Application (18A1053) referred to the Court.
2. Apr 12 2019
   Application (18A1053) granted by the Court. The application to vacate the stay of execution, presented to JUSTICE THOMAS and by him referred to the Court, is granted, and the stays entered by the District Court for the Southern District of Alabama and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on April 11, 2019, are vacated. In June 2018, death-row inmates in Alabama whose convictions were final before June 1, 2018, had 30 days to elect to be executed via nitrogen hypoxia. Ala. Code §15-18-82.1(b)(2). Price, whose conviction became final in 1999, did not do so, even though the record indicates that all death-row inmates were provided a written election form, and 48 other death-row inmates elected nitrogen hypoxia. He then waited until February 2019 to file this action and submitted additional evidence today, a few hours before his scheduled execution time. See Gomez v. United States Dist. Court for Northern Dist. Of Cal., 503 U. S. 653, 654 (1992) (per curiam) (“A court may consider the last-minute nature of an application to stay execution in deciding whether to grant equitable relief.”). Justice Breyer, with whom Justice Ginsburg, Justice Sotomayor, and Justice Kagan join, dissenting from grant of application to vacate stay. (Detached Opinion)
3. Apr 11 2019
   Application (18A1053) to vacate stay, submitted to Justice Thomas.

   Main Document
4. Apr 11 2019
   Response to application from respondent Christopher Lee Price filed.

   Main Document