Alabama executed Jamie Ray Mills, 50, for the 2004 killing of an elderly couple, Floyd and Vera Hill. Mills was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2007. The Hills were brutally attacked with a hammer, machete, and tire tool at their home. Floyd was the primary caregiver for Vera, who was in poor health. After the couple was found in pools of blood in their shed, Floyd died from wounds to the head and neck, and Vera passed away from complications of head trauma 12 weeks later. Mills maintained his innocence, but his common-law wife, JoAnn, testified against him at trial.
Throughout the years, there were appeals and claims of newly obtained evidence suggesting prosecutorial misconduct in the case against Mills. His attorneys argued that prosecutors had lied about a plea agreement with JoAnn and that the evidence against Mills was unreliable. However, the state maintained that there was a significant amount of evidence against Mills and that his death sentence was deserved due to the cold and calculated nature of his actions. The Equal Justice Initiative criticized the execution, claiming that the process was unjust and that Mills’ death was regrettable.
During his execution, Mills appeared to lose consciousness quickly after the first drug was administered, and he gave a thumbs up to family members watching from a witness room. He expressed love for his family and appreciation for his attorney before succumbing to the lethal injection. Family members of the victims, who had been waiting for justice for 20 years, stated that they believed justice had been served and that they could now find closure after the execution.
The state of Alabama had previously executed Kenneth Eugene Smith using nitrogen gas, a new method of execution that involved breathing pure nitrogen gas through a face mask, causing oxygen deprivation. This method was met with controversy, with some arguing that it was cruel and experimental, while others claimed it was a humane way to carry out executions. The execution of Mills, who was the first inmate put to death by the state using nitrogen gas, renewed the debate over capital punishment and the different methods used in administering the death penalty. The use of lethal injection remains the default method in Alabama, but inmates can request nitrogen gas or the electric chair as alternatives.
The execution of Jamie Ray Mills marked the first execution in Alabama since the state became the first in the nation to carry out an execution by nitrogen gas. Mills had been on death row for two decades before facing the lethal injection. Family members of the victims expressed relief that justice had been served and that they could finally have closure after the tragic murders of Floyd and Vera Hill. Despite the controversies surrounding the execution method and the claims of prosecutorial misconduct, the state of Alabama maintained that Mills’ death sentence was justified based on the evidence against him.
