Alabama Seeks Second Nitrogen Gas Execution
Contrasting Accounts of First Nitrogen Gas Execution
According to FoxNews, Alabama seeks second nitrogen gas execution after controversial first. Attorney General Steve Marshall asked the Supreme Court to set an execution date for Alan Eugene Miller, 59, convicted of a 1999 double murder.
Alabama plans to execute Miller using nitrogen suffocation, as stated by the attorney general’s office. Miller has been on death row since 2000 and the state believes it’s time to carry out his sentence. Miller’s attorney has not yet responded to a request for comment via email.
Alabama’s request for an execution date follows contrasting accounts of the state’s first nitrogen gas execution. Despite reports of convulsions during Kenneth Smith’s execution in January, Attorney General Marshall described it as “textbook” and intends to pursue further executions using nitrogen gas.
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Controversy Surrounding Alabama’s Nitrogen Gas Executions
After Kenneth Smith‘s execution using nitrogen gas, Alabama Attorney General Marshall claimed the method is proven. However, a lawsuit filed by another death row inmate argues that witness accounts reveal it as a unskilled “human experiment,” asserting that nitrogen gas suffocation is agonizing and painful, contrary to claims of being quick and painless.
Miller survived a previous lethal injection attempt in September 2022 due to difficulties in connecting an intravenous line to his veins. After this failed attempt, the state agreed not to pursue further lethal injections and opted for nitrogen gas for any future execution attempts. During the 2022 attempt, Miller endured over an hour of unsuccessful needle insertions and was left hanging vertically while strapped to a gurney. Miller was convicted of fatally shooting three men, Lee Holdbrooks, Scott Yancy, and Terry Jarvis, in separate workplace incidents.
Witnesses testified that Miller was delusional and thought the men were spreading rumors about him. Jurors took only 20 minutes to convict him and recommended a death sentence, which the judge confirmed.