Alan Eugene Miller, the individual convicted of committing three murders in consecutive workplace shootings, was executed using nitrogen gas at a correctional facility in south Alabama on Thursday.
Miller, aged 59, was declared deceased at 6:38 p.m. local time.
He was found guilty of the killings of his former colleagues Lee Holdbrooks, Christoper Scott Yancy, and Terry Lee Jarvis in 1999.
In his final words, which were partially obscured by the blue-rimmed gas mask covering his face, Miller stated, “I didn’t do anything to be in here.” Despite his claims, witnesses during the trial had no doubts about his guilt, recounting Miller’s actions in shooting the three men.
During the execution, Miller also made a request to his family and friends to “take care” of someone, although the identity of this individual was not specified.
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey remarked in a statement, “Tonight, justice was finally served for these three victims through the execution method chosen by the inmate. His actions were not that of insanity, but of pure evil. Three families were forever altered by his atrocious crimes, and I hope they can find solace all these years later.”
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The family members of the three victims opted not to witness the execution and did not provide a statement to be conveyed to the media, according to state officials.
Miller had initially been set for a lethal injection execution two years earlier, on September 22, 2022. The procedure was halted due to difficulties in establishing an IV line for administering the lethal substances.
His legal representatives contested the state’s attempt at a second lethal injection execution, citing the “torture” endured by their client during the failed attempt. A court filing from October 6, 2022, revealed that officials spent over 90 minutes puncturing Miller’s arms, legs, feet, and hands in a futile search for a vein.
“What then, in Defendants’ view, is a constitutional amount of time to spend stabbing someone with needles in an attempt to kill them?” argued Miller’s attorneys.
At a previous court hearing, Miller, who weighed 351 pounds, mentioned the challenges medical staff faced in accessing his veins and proposed nitrogen hypoxia as his preferred method of execution. This new execution method had been approved by the state of Alabama in 2018, but since the protocol for nitrogen gas execution had not been finalized, Miller’s execution was postponed.
Miller’s case marked the fourth unsuccessful lethal injection execution in Alabama in four years. In 2018, the execution of murderer Doyle Hamm was delayed when the IV team struggled to find a vein, resulting in over two-and-a-half hours of needle pricks. Hamm later passed away from cancer.
In November 2022, Kenneth Eugene Smith’s execution was postponed for over an hour for similar reasons.
Prior to these incidents, in August 2022, the execution of murderer Joe Nathan James, Jr. lasted three hours and raised concerns about incompetence. An autopsy revealed numerous puncture wounds and unexplained incisions on James’s arms, according to a report by the Death Penalty Information Center.
Once the state finalized its protocols in 2023, Smith became the first individual to be executed using nitrogen gas. However, witnesses of his January 2024 execution were shocked as they witnessed Smith gasping and convulsing while the gas was being administered through a mask.
Miller’s legal team sought to halt the nation’s second scheduled nitrogen gas execution, citing Smith’s execution as a “disaster.”
State officials maintained that nitrogen hypoxia is the most humane method of execution, but critics have expressed differing opinions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Can you please rewrite this sentence?
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