American man, Alan Eugene Miller was executed Thursday evening in Alabama using nitrogen hypoxia, a controversial execution method that some critics argue is equivalent to torture.
The 59-year-old, who was sentenced to death in 2000 for the murder of three men in 1999, became the second inmate to die by this method, following Kenneth Smith’s earlier execution.
Miller was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, according to a statement from John Hamm, the Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner.
Witnesses reported that Miller exhibited significant physical distress during the procedure. For approximately two minutes, his body trembled and shook violently against the restraints on the gurney.
The Associated Press, which had a reporter present at the scene, detailed that the shaking was followed by about six minutes of sporadic, deep gulping breaths before Miller became still.
His final words, delivered through a mask that obscured his face from forehead to chin, were a declaration of his innocence, “I didn’t do anything to be in here,” he said, although his voice was partially muffled by the mask, the AP reported.
The execution lasted around 15 minutes, during which nitrogen gas was administered through the mask.
Hamm later confirmed the involuntary movements seen in Miller, explaining, “There’s going to be involuntary body movements as the body is depleted of oxygen. That is nothing we did not expect.”
Hamm also stated that the procedure unfolded exactly as anticipated, “Everything went according to plan and according to our protocol, so it went just as we had planned.”
At one point, officials had to adjust the mask to ensure it was properly fitted, according to Hamm. “That’s just making sure the mask is fitted,” he said in response to inquiries from reporters.
Following the execution, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey issued a statement commending the outcome, expressing relief that justice had been served for the families of Miller’s three victims.
“His acts were not that of insanity, but pure evil. Three families were forever changed by his heinous crimes, and I pray that they can find comfort all these years later,” Ivey said.
Miller’s path to execution was fraught with delays and legal battles. He had initially requested to die by nitrogen hypoxia, a method introduced in several states as a supposedly more humane alternative to lethal injection.
However, when the state was not prepared to carry out the execution using this method, they attempted to administer a lethal injection in September 2022. That attempt was ultimately aborted when corrections officers failed to access Miller’s veins before the execution warrant expired. In response, the state agreed not to use any method other than nitrogen hypoxia for Miller’s execution, a process that would later involve Miller challenging the method in court.
In the months leading up to his execution, Miller filed a federal lawsuit arguing that nitrogen hypoxia could cause unnecessary suffering, thereby violating the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
However, the lawsuit was settled in August 2024, with the terms remaining confidential. State Attorney General Steve Marshall, however, asserted that the settlement validated the nitrogen hypoxia procedure as constitutional.
“The resolution of this case confirms that Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia system is reliable and humane,” he said.
Proponents of nitrogen hypoxia, which works by replacing the oxygen in the lungs with nitrogen, argue that the inmate would lose consciousness quickly, reducing the chance of prolonged suffering.
However, medical experts remain skeptical, warning that it’s difficult to determine when, or even if, an individual will lose consciousness when exposed to pure nitrogen. Dr. Jonathan Groner, a professor of surgery who has studied capital punishment extensively, noted that the procedure might not deliver the painless death its advocates promise.
Miller’s final hours included visits from nine people and a meal of hamburger steak, baked potato, and French fries, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.
His crimes, committed on August 5, 1999, involved the killings of three coworkers; Lee Holdbrooks, Scott Yancy, and Terry Lee Jarvis.
According to the Alabama Attorney General’s office, Miller believed his victims were spreading malicious rumours about him.
He first shot Holdbrooks and Yancy at Ferguson Enterprises in Pelham, Alabama, before driving to his former employer, Post Airgas, where he killed Jarvis.
Court documents reveal the grim details: Yancy was shot three times, one bullet paralyzing him, while Holdbrooks was shot six times as he attempted to flee. Jarvis was also fatally shot after denying he had spread rumors about Miller.
Miller’s defense argued that he suffered from a delusional disorder, but the mental illness did not meet Alabama’s legal standard for an insanity defense. As Tara Barnes, the widow of victim Lee Holdbrooks, told CNN, “I feel that it has taken way too long to get here.”
The method used in Miller’s execution remains contentious. When Kenneth Smith was executed earlier in the year using nitrogen hypoxia, witnesses reported that he, too, shook and writhed on the gurney for several minutes before succumbing to the gas.
United Nations experts have condemned the use of nitrogen hypoxia, calling it “State-sanctioned torture” and highlighting that it has only been tested on animals.
Despite the criticism, Alabama remains one of four states—alongside Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Mississippi—that have authorized nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution. Whether it will become more widely used or remain mired in controversy is yet to be seen.
