ATMORE, Ala. — Alabama used nitrogen gas Thursday to execute a man convicted of killing three people in consecutive workplace shootings. The second time the method that has sparked debate over its humanity has been used in the country
Alan Eugene Miller, 59, was pronounced dead at a south Alabama prison at 6:38 p.m. local time. He shook and trembled on the stretcher for about two minutes, his body occasionally pulling against the restraints. That was followed by about six minutes of periodic breathing before he went quiet.
Miller was convicted in 1999 of murdering three men – Lee Holdbrooks, Christopher Scott Yancy and Terry Jarvis – and the state had tried to do before him by lethal injection in 2022.
“I didn’t do anything to be here,” Miller said in his final words, which were sometimes muffled by the blue-rimmed gas mask that covered his face from forehead to chin. However, witnesses at the trial had expressed no doubt about his guilt and described Miller shooting the three men.
At the execution, Miller also asked his family and friends to “take care of” someone, but it was not clear whose name he said.
Miller was one of five prisoners put to death within a week, an unusually high number that a years of decline in the application of the death penalty in the US
“Tonight, justice was finally served for these three victims through the inmate’s chosen method of execution,” Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said in a statement. “His actions were not those of insanity, but of pure evil. Three families were forever changed by his horrific crimes, and I pray they can find comfort all these years later.
Relatives of the three victims did not witness the execution and did not provide a statement to be read to reporters, state officials said.
The execution was the second to use the new method, which Alabama first used in January Kenneth Smith was put to death. The method involves placing a gas mask over the prisoner’s face to replace the inhaled air with pure nitrogen gas, which results in death from lack of oxygen.
Alabama officials and attorneys have argued over whether Smith suffered unconstitutional pain during his execution after he shook with seizure-like spasms for several minutes, sometimes rocking the gurney. Smith then gasped for breath for several minutes. The shaking Miller exhibited was similar to what was seen in the first nitrogen gas execution, but did not appear as long or as violent.
Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm said the shaking movements were expected.
“Just like in Smith we talked about, there will be involuntary body movements when the body is deprived of oxygen. So that wasn’t anything we didn’t expect,” Hamm said, explaining that the nitrogen gas flowed for 15 minutes. “Everything went according to plan and according to our protocol.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the execution “went as expected and without incident.”
“Tonight, despite disinformation campaigns from political activists, out-of-state advocates and a biased media, the state once again proved that nitrogen hypoxia is both humane and effective,” Marshall said in a statement.
Marshall did not personally witness the execution, but a representative from his office did, prison officials said.
Miller, a truck driver, was convicted of murder in the Aug. 5, 1999, shootings that claimed three lives and shocked the town of Pelham, a suburb just south of Birmingham.
Police say Miller entered Ferguson Enterprises early that morning and shot and killed two co-workers: Holdbrooks, 32, and Yancy, 28. He then drove five miles away to Post Airgas, where he had previously worked, and shot Jarvis, 39. Witness testimony showed that Miller was paranoid and believed his colleagues had gossiped about him.
“You’re spreading rumors about me,” a witness described Miller before he opened fire. All three men were shot multiple times.
Miller had initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but later withdrew the plea. A psychiatrist hired by the defense said Miller was mentally ill, but his condition was not serious enough to serve as a basis for an insanity defense, court records show. Jurors convicted Miller after 20 minutes of deliberation, recommending by a 10-2 vote that he receive the death penalty.
In 2022, the state called off its previous attempt to execute Miller after it was unable to connect an IV line to the 300-pound inmate. Miller had initially challenged the nitrogen gas protocol, but dropped his lawsuit after reaching an undisclosed settlement with the state.
Hamm said the state has not changed the protocol. Miller had requested, among other things, a sedative. Hamm declined to say whether Miller had been given a sedative and referred questions about the settlement to Miller’s attorneys.