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Saving Jeffery Lee from a Death Sentence the Jury Rejected: A Conversation with His Legal Team

• Stephanie Campos

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In this bonus episode of the podcast, I had the honor of sitting down with MiAngel Cody and Miriam Bankston, two members of Jeffery Lee's legal team. For those of you unfamiliar with Jeffery Lee, he is currently incarcerated and is awaiting execution on death row on June 11 in the state of Alabama. 

The jury's verdict recommended life in prison for Jeffery, but the trial judge rejected the verdict and imposed the death sentence. This is known as judicial override, a law that the state of Alabama abolished in 2017 because it is so unjust. Jeffery is a man of faith, a mentor and leader, and a force for positive change and support amongst his community within death row, and his loved ones, as well. He leads with compassion, humility, and grace and his spirit and character inspire others to find courage, hope and change for the better despite all odds. Thank you for tuning in and being here, to not only learn more about Jeffery as a person and his life, but also how you can participate to help save his life.

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And in Mr. Lee's case, his lawyer had never tried a capital case before, had no experience in capital work. And that would be like getting on a plane, and your pilot had never flown a plane and had no license. None of us would feel comfortable on that flight, but that's how capital work is navigated in Alabama. Today, I have a very special episode and a cause that's very dear to my heart. I want to talk about Jeffrey Lee. And I'm here with two members of his legal team. And yeah, I would just love for you both to tell me a little bit about yourself and let's kind of dive into Jeffrey's case. And he's, you know, in a Pullman prison. He's on death row. And he essentially a jury voted to give him life in prison without the possibility of parole. But because of something known as judicial override, which is a practice that is so unjust, it has been outlawed and abolished in Alabama in 2017. A judge threw out that verdict and gave him the death penalty despite what the jury recommended. So yeah, on behalf of Jeffrey, would just love to hear more about your role and who he is as a person and uh what brings him joy and how we can all help as well. Thank you. Yeah, I'll go first. Um, thank you for having us. It's really important to us as Jeffree's legal team to get the word out and the message out about um not only who he is, who he's become, um, but also, as you mentioned, the unjustness of judicial override. So my name is MyAngel Cody. I am one of the lawyers working on Mr. Lee's um very interestingly 100% woman-powered legal team. And so we are really excited about that, and I think that's that's really fueling us. Um, I have been involved in death penalty work for a number of years. I went to death row in Louisiana for the first time when I was 18, and I was working for a capital defense office there, served as a Chicago federal defender for many years, and then started my own practice representing people in prison. And now I'm at the uh Capitol habeas in the Middle District of Alabama, which we represents Mr. Lee. Thank you for being here. Thank you, Stephanie, so much um for having us. My name is Miriam Bankston, and I'm the chief investigator of the Capitol habeas unit here at the Federal Defenders for the Middle District of Alabama. And I've been doing this work for seven years. And prior to this, I worked with kids who had found themselves in contact with the juvenile criminal system. And I have been here seven years this entire time working with the individuals on death row and their families. Um and I got involved in Mr. Lee's case when his legal team started thinking about um clemency and kind of what that was going to look like for Mr. Lee. How long have both of you been working with Mr. Lee? I um our office has been representing him since about 2009. So he's been a client of the office for a very long time. And our lead counsel on the team, Leslie Smith, has been walking with him, working with him through this process for many years. Um, Marion and I recently joined the team, particularly after Governor Ivy uh set his execution date. And so that's sort of like a time when in capital work, cases really, really beef up to start that final push to save their lives. Yeah, absolutely. And we're here on June 1st, so we have 11 days. You know, his date is scheduled for June 11th. Uh, something that has been so compelling to me is just there seems to be this light within him, and uh he's a mentor to others, he is involved in Kairos. I would just love to hear from you all since you know him and you've worked with him. What is he like? Uh, you know, let's let's bring some humanity to him and what what brings him joy? And who is Jeffrey? Stephanie, I appreciate that question so much because I think sometimes we, when we talk about cases, we can lose sight of the person, right? And so, first and foremost, you know, Mr. Lee is a son and he is a brother, and he is a father, and his family is central to who he is and to his story. And, you know, despite kind of growing up under some pretty traumatic circumstances, um, those relationships have been rebuilt and strengthened and healed over time. And so, you know, Jeffrey today, I think, you know, when he went to prison, he made the decision almost immediately that he was going to change his life. And he's someone who taught himself how to read and write so he could communicate with his family. And he immersed himself in faith and began really confronting the trauma and addiction and other issues that he experienced early in his life. And so today, you know, he's known as a mentor, as a leader and a source of stability for others. And he guides new people when they get to the row, and he serves in faith-based ministries and he has held leadership roles in those. And the people that know him most, I think pretty much consistently describe him as somebody who's compassionate and thoughtful, humble and deeply concerned with helping others. And, you know, my understanding is that what brings him the most joy is being of service to others, and he finds purpose in encouraging other people and helping them through difficult times and being useful to his community. Um, you know, and he he loves sports. He is a long-suffering fan of Florida State University's college football team and the Minnesota Vikings. And yeah, he just he just really finds joy in in being service to others and being connected with his family and his faith. Yeah, that that comes across in, you know, everything that I've seen on his website and everything that I've read about him and the testimonials. And yeah, I really just want to center who he is now. Um, you know, he is part of a larger system that is absolutely corrupt and unjust, and he has turned his life around on Death Row, which is a place that's not set up for people to really do that, right? And so I just do want to bring awareness to who he is as a person. Thank you so much. Yeah. And I would love to hear a little bit more about judicial override because that is really an important cornerstone in his case in particular. So can you two elaborate on that from a legal perspective? Yeah, I mean, I think that this is the part of the work where people are always wondering and asking, like, how did how do we get here? Like, how did this even happen? And I think part of it is people just can't believe that someone who was never sentenced to death by their jury can still be executed by the state of Alabama. Um, so I think the best way to describe it is figuring out like what's the recipe for an unjust death sentence? Like what goes into that, right? It doesn't happen sort of immaculately out of nowhere. There are many places and ingredients to create an unjust death sentence. And so to talk about Jeffrey's case in particular, um, I would say first, I would go back to before he was ever on death row, before he ever had a capital case, there were at least three missed opportunities in his life. And like you said, that's important to center that person and that human being. So when he became addicted to drugs as a 10-year-old and was huffing gasoline, that was a missed opportunity and no one caught it. No one at the school caught it. His family was ill-equipped to understand and to manage that childhood addiction even before puberty and what that was coming from. Like what was that origin story of addiction was not properly handled. He had attempted to take his own life as a young teenager. There was a missed opportunity for intervention there as well to just figure out what exactly is this young person suffering from. There were psychiatric breaks, he was having delusions and hallucinations, seeing things and hearing voices that people just did not recognize or did not have the resources and wherewithal to properly intervene. So, first, I would say the first ingredient is missed opportunities. Second, I think it's important to recognize that you know, Mr. Lee's offense and his crime, he's never tried to say that he wasn't responsible. From the moment that he was arrested, he readily came forward and said, you know, he was deeply sorry. He was experiencing a psychiatric break when he committed this botched pawn shop robbery. And in particular, um, two people died in that. And he's always been very, very remorseful about that and what happened that day. So then you mix in one incompetent lawyer, right? Because in a lot of these capital cases, what we do see, and I'm a defense lawyer, is that a defense lawyer who is incapable, uh, ill-trained to defend a capital case becomes an ingredient to that injustice. And in Mr. Lee's case, his lawyer had never tried a capital case before, had no experience in capital work. And that would be like getting on a plane, and your pilot had never flown a plane and had no license. None of us would feel comfortable on that flight, but that's how capital work is navigated in Alabama. Um, and so you have one incompetent lawyer without proper training, did not do any investigation into Mr. Lee's life, his childhood, his background. And so at this point, you know more about Mr. Lee's life than the judge and the jury knew before they made their decision in his case. And that's a problem. So after you have one incompetent defense lawyer, you then have 12 jurors, right? So you sprinkle in 12 jurors, all members of your community, all people who are wrestling with, probably one of the most important decisions that they'll ever make for other citizens, and that is whether this person should live or die. And those 12 people voted, and their decision was that he should get life without the possibility of parole, but that he they expressly rejected the death penalty in his case. Then you added one judge, and that's where judicial override comes into effect because in Alabama at the time, um, in the late 90s, when Jeffrey was sentenced, it was a three-part trial system. So first the jury would have to decide whether this person was guilty. Did they commit the capital crime that they're charged with? Then the jury would have to decide what's our best reasoned and rigorous recommendation for a sentence. And in this case, at that second stage, the jury said, we believe this person should get life apparel. And then after that, the judge would then consider that recommendation, ideally consider the history and characteristics of that person who's sitting in front of them to be sentenced, and decide what is the most appropriate punishment for that particular person on those particular facts in that particular case, right? So at that third step, that's where the judicial override allowed the judge legally to overrule, to disregard, and to ignore the jury sentencing recommendation and to put impose death, even though the jury had expressly rejected the death sentence. So you've got 12 jurors, one judge overrode them. Then you have to take into consideration that this judge is making this life or death decision with only a teaspoon of facts. So you sprinkle in a teaspoon of facts, you don't put in the whole cup, and that's how this judge ends up deciding that based on the information presented to him at the time, that Jeffrey was irredeemable and deserve a death sentence. What I think is most important because I think a lot about grace and about like the arc of people's lives, and not just the arc of Jeffree's life, but the arc of law and society in general. And in 2017, the state of Alabama abolished judicial override and banned it, essentially saying this is not fair. And that was the first law that Governor Ivy signed on her first day in office. That tells us how important this was to dismantle. So you've got a law that has since been abolished, but is still being used in order to execute people on death row. Why that's important for the ARC is that I think that when we talk about like grace and redemption and in Jeffree's story and look at how the state of Alabama has essentially said, you know what, we were wrong. We got it wrong. We had a law in the books that was wrong, we're going to change that law. And we want the citizens of Alabama to continue to respect us and the law, even though we acknowledge that at a time we were in error. That's the same sort of grace and humility that I think that Jeffrey deserves and has earned. And so I think when we talk about judicial override, it's not just about Jeffrey and his case and um what he did. It's that whole recipe of what into what went into his death sentence. Thank you so much for that overview and especially for taking it back even before the Capitol case, because we are living in a society that is built with these systems and structures that are embedded with white supremacy and colonization and all of these harmful, oppressive um you know, recipes and ingredients that add layers and nuance and important context to what Jeffrey has experienced because of these systems that do not upset that did not set him up for success and did not intervene at these very critical points in his life. So I really appreciate the depth of going into his life and taking us through his case as well. Yeah, I think that context is really important because a lot of times, you know, I think injustice thrives and is mineralized off of just the lack of context. And here in particular, I see where starting with the crime and starting with the bad facts, that's just really good PR for how injustice continues to languish on the books and people continue to have these relic sentences under laws that even the state has since abandoned. So I think that context is really important for people to understand how to unravel it. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, one of the things, you know, that stuck out to me when I was learning about Jeffrey is how he really wanted to learn the the names of the people involved in his case so he could pray for them every day. And there's just such uh a care and remorse and redemption and a dedication that he has given to his faith, and he isn't someone who just practices faith, but he embodies it and he lives it, and I think that that truly is difficult for a lot of people and is something to definitely highlight and acknowledge, especially about who Jeffrey is as a person. Yeah, and I think that that is really, really important to um families, and too often we see things in binary terms that life for Jeffrey would be um disrespecting the legacy and importance of these people who lost their lives. And those things can coexist, there can be restorative and reparative justice, and I think that we not only as Jeffree's legal team, but as people who live in the community and who are the primary investors in our own justice system, have to start making those decisions and wrestling with how to do that. Right, right. Is there anything else that the public should know about Jeffree, about who he is, anything he wants the public to know? I think that so Marian and I have visited him. I was there visiting him last week, we'll be there visiting him this week. And one thing that has, I think honestly, I take inspiration from is his courage. He recently sat through a trial about his method of execution because in Alabama, Alabama has the novel idea of suffocating people to death. Um, and so, which is a new, untested, and completely unscientific, cruel way to end a human life. And I think that whether people support there for or against the death penalty, we can all agree that we ought to be knowing and having solid information about the way in which society is sanctioning and the methods we're using to execute people. So for him to have just last month sat through a three-day trial where lawyers and judges and experts were arguing about his method of being killed, um, and to sit there with his spine straight and his spirit uh still intact, I think is very, very important. I think that speaks to his spirituality, his faith, um, and also his courage in recognizing that behind him there are others for whom the same method of execution waits. Yeah, and this method in particular is not even recommended by like the Veterinary Association of America for Animals, right? Because it is so cruel and violent, too. So I think that is so important to elevate because why would we be doing this with humans? Um, I think we need to abolish the death penalty in the prison industrial complex. But when you're looking at the methods, this one seems to be debotched almost every single time. You know, the past executions have gone on for 20 plus minutes, and uh it really is a form of torture. I can't imagine having to sit there for three days, like you said, and listen to people talk about that and you in front of you and you know what Jeffrey experienced. It's just so important to contact Governor Ivy and ask for clemency. I mean, what else can the public do? I I'm gonna include links to petitions to sign uh the forum to contact. Governor Ivy online. You know, do you have any other suggestions for? I know we can call as well. I think you've you've covered the major ones. I think we obviously know at this point how powerful social media can be and storytelling can be. And so if there are opportunities that people have to share his story with their family, their friends, their network, whether that's through his social media or joining any of the upcoming events that we will be having, I think that's just so important. Um we've seen it do wonders, I think, here in Alabama lately. Um, and so I would also encourage people to do that. Yeah, I think that um when people reach out to the governor's office, their lawmakers, their representatives of their voice, I think it's really important for people to say that they do not support killing people using laws that are no longer on the books, right? And you can be for or against the death penalty and say if it's not a law on the books today, it should not be used today to kill someone in my name as a citizen of the state of Alabama. And that's an entirely reasonable request to make. I think it's also important for people to understand that there are 26 people, I think is the last count, who are currently on death row under judicial override. So we're not talking about a problem that is so big that it can't be fixed at this point. Um, there are only 26 remaining souls. And that's an entirely reasonable ask as well, particularly for a governor who her first day in office started her legacy with judicial override. And in her last year in office, she can finish it there. Absolutely. I think that regardless of how people feel about the death penalty or wherever they are politically, we know that judges who are operating under political influence is not a good thing for anybody and not for our democracy. And what we know about Alabama is that our judges are elected and they run on these platforms such as Tough on Crime. And we know that in instances where judicial override was used, they elect it, there's usually a correlation with elections. And so I think this is something that a lot of people should be concerned about and should be able to support efforts to reinstate the jury's sentences in these cases. And most urgently, Mr. Lee. Absolutely. And for any listeners who want to learn more about Alabama and the prison system within Alabama, there is this amazing documentary, The Alabama Solution. Um so please check that out as well. I would love to hear a little bit more about, I know Jeffree's faith brings him joy, and he is such an important mentor to so many people with lives that he touches, and he's a part of Kairos. And that is something he's in a leadership role, right? This isn't something that he was just given or it just happened overnight. This is, you know, 25 years plus in the making of really, like I said, embodying his his faith. And this is uh he's in a position that is very hard to uh achieve. They don't just like hand out these leadership roles. So I would just love to hear a little bit more about that and you know his involvement, if if there's anything to share with that. I I think the support that we've seen Mr. Lee get from Kairos and others really speaks to who he is and how important he is uh in in the community that he's in, right, on death row. Um I we have seen, you know, if you've had a chance to see the film, they participate in the film, they attend the events, um, and it really is just because he is such a leader and has such, you know, a calming presence. And I think one of the ministers was quoted as kind of saying, you know, there are there are people who incite riots and there are people who calm riots, and that is who Mr. Lee is, and that he is an asset to to the community there on death row. And it is not, you know, something that comes easy. I think, you know, demonstrates how committed he is to his faith, how committed he is to others, and also just that he's an incredibly hard worker. And, you know, I think when we talk about executions and loss, we often talk about what that means for the people around our clients, their immediate community, and what those losses can do to the people around them. Um, and so I know that what we're hearing, I think, from everybody that is has any connection to Holman is what a loss this would be. I think it all I think that it's also beautiful to witness the ways in which um community offers and supplements in places that government may not. And so I started my comments talking about missed opportunities and to just see the ways in which Cairos and the people involved in Kairos have offered that therapeutic support. And Jeffrey has, as you mentioned, risen to the ranks to also become a leader so that he can pour back in. And it's it's almost like this mutual aid that's happening because it's deeply necessary. And we as just individuals are seeing places where there is a need and feeling it. And I think that your listeners certainly can resonate with that. And so just to see Jeffrey through concrete, through bar wire, find meaningful ways to contribute outside of his cell and circumstance, I think is deeply inspiring. And also just what that has like how he's able to influence his community and loved ones outside of Holman, right? I think that his story of redemption and the person that he has become has helped, you know, people closest to him make those same kinds of changes and commitments. And I know, you know, I got to witness something really beautiful. My angel was there too not too long ago during a visit. Um, and I think it just really highlights the compassion and thoughtfulness and empathy that Jeffrey has. And, you know, his attorney, Leslie Smith, was telling him about all the different people that are now involved in his case and helping. And she kind of just said, you know, I just I needed help. I couldn't, I can't do it all by myself. And he said, Well, I'm glad because no one asked you to do that anyway. Right. And that is someone who at this point is maybe like a month and a half out from his own execution, and he's telling, you know, the the the person that is has been fighting for his life for all of these years, and like that during these times it only ramps up, like, yeah, I'm glad you asked for help. Like you, you don't need to carry all of this by yourself. Um, and it was just so beautiful, and just really to me, like highlights who he is as a person, but also the relationship, I think, that that that he and his, you know, Leslie, his long-term attorney have had. Wow. Absolutely. Yeah. And he, like you mentioned at the beginning of the call, he's a father, he's a brother. I know that he's directly influenced his brother, and you know, he's living the life that and embodying and being the person that he knows Jeffrey would be if he were not on death row. And he's very involved in his son's life, and he has just been this force of inspiration, redemption, hope uh in their lives as well. One thing I would share is that in our last visit with him, you know, just to prove set the scene, you know, we're three weeks out from his execution. And as much as you feel like you've been there before, and you you, as a lawyer, you have um some expectation of what the dynamic is supposed to be, like I'm the lawyer, this is his legal team. In that meeting, we spent most of the time. I spent most of the time just listening to him talking about growing up. And just it's almost as like he wanted to share just memories so that people would know that he existed and that these things happened. And it's just beautiful to witness that as well and to just hold that part of that person in their story. Um, to say, yeah, you you do exist. You are important. These memories did happen, they did shape you. It's part of who you are and your evolutive DNA to understand that you are among us. Um, and so I think that's really, really important. I I really want people to know and to live in and to lean into that as a practice. What a profound experience to share with him. And it it just makes me, you know, I believe that we're all interconnected as people, and that's part of my spiritual tenets and spirituality. And I I just I don't believe any human should be defined by a singular moment in our life, and that we're all capable of change and transformation, and that we really have a divine responsibility to one another because we are all interconnected, and uh, I just want to see Jeffrey uh receive that compassion, that grace, that love, and the redemption that he truly deserves. And I also wanted to read a quote, if that's alright. Um by uh Curtis Browder, I believe that's how you say his name. He's a prison chaplain and advocate. He said, death row is not set up for a man to change. And I know the change when I see the change. Jeffrey has changed. Change of heart, change of mind. He has the love and the warmth and the caring spirit about him. I know that personally. That was something that just touched me deeply. And reading and learning more about Jeffrey, you can just feel that exude off of his spirit and his energy. And so yeah, I just want to encourage everyone listening, everyone who's learning more, whether it's about the death penalty or Jeffrey Lee or judicial override, to remember how powerful we are together in numbers. I think the powers that be the current government, the administration, they don't they want to take that power away from us. But we saw with Sonny Burton when we all came together, and you know, you think that your one phone call doesn't make a difference or your one signing of the petition doesn't make a difference. It really does. And it really only takes 30 seconds of your life. You can do it every morning. A easy way for me to do it is to tie it in with another routine or habit that you already keep in your life. So whether it's stretching in the morning, if you're stretching your legs, dial that phone number to Alabama. It's a really easy one to remember. You get it kind of um pick it up easily after you call a couple times. But to just really remember this is a simple, quick practice that we can all do every day. And it really only takes 30 to 45 seconds and it can change a life, and every life matters because we all are connected and matter. So that is just what I believe and what I would wanted to share. But um, is there anything else that you two would like to share that we did not cover? Yeah, I think that in listening to you talk about change, that is really, really important. Um, and I hope that people take that away from this conversation that change is the law. All things change. Um, and the same way our laws change and change back and change again, that to me is the core ingredient of grace is allowing things to change um as they naturally do and should. And I think that Jeffrey's life and his story and his courage and his humility and his resilience is all born from that change. And that that's really, really important to put in the center of understanding him. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Thank you for having us. Of course, of course. Thank you for having us and for your your work and just everything that you do. Of course, of course. Thank you both for all of the work that you do. And let's let's help save Jeffrey. There will be links in the show notes to sign a petition. I have a letter drafted for people who don't want to write out something. You can copy and paste my letter and just put it into the form. I will have phone numbers listed. Um, if there are any other resources, assets that you all recommend, please send them my way and I'll add them to the show notes as well. But um yes, do do your part. We are more powerful together and let's help save Jeffrey. Yes, absolutely. We'll see you at the finish line under the win. Celebrate. Absolutely.