Alan Eugene Miller, an Alabama inmate, has filed a lawsuit to block the state from executing him using nitrogen gas, claiming that the first execution using this method was “botched” and caused cruel and prolonged suffering for the individual who was put to death. Miller, who survived a previous lethal injection attempt in 2022, argued that executing him using the same protocol would be in violation of the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. His lawyers also claimed that the state’s motive for seeking his execution was to silence him in retaliation for speaking out about his failed lethal injection attempt, which they argued violated his free speech and due process rights.
The lawsuit filed by Miller’s attorneys challenged the execution method and sought to prevent a potential execution from being carried out. They argued that Alabama’s attempt to maintain secrecy and avoid public scrutiny following the botched execution reflected the state’s inability to conduct such an execution without causing additional pain and prolonging death. The lawyers also criticized the state for misrepresenting the details of the first nitrogen execution, which was intended to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method but reportedly resulted in the individual shaking and convulsing on the gurney.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office requested the Alabama Supreme Court to set an execution date for Miller using nitrogen gas, but the court has not yet ruled on the request. Miller is expected to file a response with the court in the coming week. The request for an execution date came amidst conflicting views between the state and advocates regarding the use of nitrogen gas in executions. Following a failed lethal injection attempt on Miller in 2022, an agreement was reached that any future execution attempts would be carried out using nitrogen gas. However, witness accounts of the first nitrogen execution raised concerns about the effectiveness and ethical implications of the method.
Miller was convicted for a 1999 workplace rampage during which he killed three men and was sentenced to death. Like Kenneth Smith, the individual who was put to death in the first nitrogen execution, Miller also survived a previous lethal injection attempt. The details of the failed execution attempts, including struggles in finding suitable veins for the lethal injection procedure, highlighted the challenges faced by the state in carrying out executions. A separate lawsuit filed by another death row inmate also sought to block the use of nitrogen gas based on witness accounts that described Smith’s execution as a failed “human experiment.”
Despite the state’s assertion that Smith’s execution went according to plan and was “textbook,” witness accounts suggested otherwise and raised questions about the state’s ability to conduct executions in a humane manner. Miller’s lawsuit, filed in federal court, aimed to challenge the state’s intention to execute him using nitrogen gas and prevent further suffering or prolonged death. The legal battle surrounding the use of nitrogen gas in executions reflects broader debates and ethical concerns related to capital punishment and the methods used in carrying out death sentences.
