An Alabama inmate, Alan Eugene Miller, is seeking to block the state’s attempt to execute him using nitrogen gas, arguing that the first execution under this new method was “botched” and caused cruel and prolonged suffering. Miller’s attorneys have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the execution method, claiming that the first nitrogen execution in January left the inmate shaking and convulsing on a gurney. They argue that using the same protocol on Miller would violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. They also claim that the state is attempting to execute Miller to silence him in retaliation for speaking out about his failed lethal injection attempt, which they argue is a violation of his free speech and due process rights.
The lawsuit alleges that the State of Alabama has attempted to maintain secrecy and avoid public scrutiny regarding the botched execution, misrepresenting what happened. Miller’s lawyers argue that Alabama cannot conduct such an execution without adding pain and disgrace, as well as prolonging death. They have requested a judge to prevent a potential execution from going forward using nitrogen gas as the method. The Attorney General’s office has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
Alan Eugene Miller was sentenced to death for a 1999 workplace rampage in which he killed three men. He survived a previous attempted lethal injection, prompting the state to strike an agreement with his lawyers that future execution attempts would be done using nitrogen gas. However, witness accounts of the first nitrogen execution contradict the state’s claim that it was “textbook” and went according to plan. Another death row inmate has also filed a lawsuit to block the use of nitrogen gas, citing witness accounts that show the execution was a botched “human experiment.”
Miller has described the failed lethal injection attempt in 2022, during which prison staff struggled for over an hour to find a vein, leaving him hanging vertically on a gurney as they tried to insert needles. The inmate, a delivery truck driver, was convicted of fatally shooting three men, believing delusionally that they were spreading rumors about him. Jurors convicted Miller after a short deliberation and recommended a death sentence, which was imposed by a judge. The Alabama Supreme Court has yet to rule on the request for an execution date using nitrogen gas and Miller is expected to file a response this week. The legal battle surrounding the use of this new execution method continues, with advocates presenting opposing views on what occurred during the first execution using nitrogen.
