Alabama sets date for second execution using nitrogen gas for inmate who survived botched attempt in 2022

Published 3:12 pm Thursday, May 9, 2024

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has set the execution date for death row inmate Alan Miller, 59, to be Sept. 26.

The execution will be the state’s second use of nitrogen gas for capital punishment. Despite objections citing the US Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, the execution is anticipated to proceed.

It will also be the second time the State of Alabama will attempt to execute Miller after he survivedĀ a botched execution in September 2022.

During the previous attempt, Miller endured what his lawyers described as physical and mental torture at Holman Correctional Facility. Strapped to a gurney for two hours, executioners attempted to find a vein for lethal injections, ultimately suspending him vertically for 20 minutes before calling off the procedure.

Miller, convicted of the 1999 murder of three men in a workplace shooting, now faces a second execution, this time through nitrogen gas inhalation, a method criticized for causing fatal oxygen deprivation.

The decision echoes Alabama’s earlier use of nitrogen on Kenneth Smith, who also survived a botched execution before being put to death in January. Witnesses described Smith’s distressing final moments despite the state’s claims of a humane procedure. Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized Alabama’s approach, highlighting global scrutiny on the issue.