Alabama Prepares for Second Nitrogen Gas Execution Despite Legal Challenges

After becoming the first state to execute someone via nitrogen gas, Alabama has scheduled another execution using this previously untested method. Governor Kay Ivey has set a September 26th execution date for Alan Eugene Miller, who was sentenced to death for murdering three men during a 1999 workplace shooting. Miller narrowly avoided being executed via lethal injection last year. This decision follows the Alabama Supreme Court’s authorization of the execution, which came a week prior. In January, Alabama utilized nitrogen gas to execute Kenneth Smith, who experienced seizures while dying, shaking and convulsing for several minutes on the gurney. Miller has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the use of nitrogen gas violates the US Constitution’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, based on witness accounts of Smith’s final moments. His legal team anticipates requesting a restraining order from a federal judge to prevent the execution from proceeding. Attorney General Steve Marshall defended Smith’s execution as “textbook” and declared the state’s intention to continue executing individuals through nitrogen gas. State authorities argue that Miller has been held on death row since 2000 and that it is time to carry out his sentence. During the shootings at his place of work, Miller killed Terry Jarvis, Lee Holdbrooks, and Scott Yancy.