Alabama Executes Convicted Killer Using Nitrogen Gas: Second Inmate to Undergo Controversial Method

Alan Eugene Miller, a convicted killer who has been on death row since 2000, met his end on Thursday, Sept. 26, at a prison in Atmore, Ala. The execution marked the second time in the U.S. that nitrogen hypoxia was used to carry out a death sentence.

Miller, responsible for the deaths of three men, was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., located about 50 miles northeast of Mobile. Reports from CNN, the Associated Press, and AL.com confirmed the execution.

Shaking and trembling on the gurney for eight minutes before becoming still, Miller's final words were, "I didn’t do anything to be in here. I didn’t do anything to be on death row. Thank you," as reported by AL.com.

The Alabama Attorney General’s Office stated that Miller was sentenced to death for the workplace shooting deaths of his coworkers Lee Holdbrooks, Christopher Yancy, and Terry Jarvis in Pelham, Ala., in August 1999.

Previously scheduled for execution by lethal injection in 2022, the attempt was called off due to difficulties finding Miller's veins. Subsequently, a deal was reached for him to die by nitrogen hypoxia, a method involving the introduction of pure nitrogen into the lungs while cutting off the oxygen supply.

Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi are the only states that have authorized nitrogen hypoxia for executions. Alabama became the first to implement the method, which has stirred controversy over its perceived painlessness and humanity.

Earlier this year, Kenneth Eugene Smith became the first person in the U.S. to be executed by nitrogen gas, with the Alabama Supreme Court permitting the controversial method. Advocates have criticized the approach as "experimental," while the American Veterinary Medical Association deems it unacceptable for mammals except pigs.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall defended the execution method, stating, “After two decades, Alan Miller was finally put to death for a depraved murder spree that cruelly took the lives of three innocent men: Lee Holdbrooks, Christopher Yancy, and Terry Jarvis.”

“I ask the people of Alabama to join me in praying for the families and friends of the victims, that they might now find peace and closure,” Marshall added.

As the debate over the use of nitrogen gas for executions continues, the case of Alan Eugene Miller adds another chapter to the ongoing discussion surrounding capital punishment in the United States.