Officials had problems identifying Alabama killer Alan Miller’s veins


According to the state, an Alabama man who was slated to be killed by lethal injection is still alive because executioners were unable to locate his vein by the midnight deadline.

Alan Eugene Miller, who shot three co-workers who he believed were spreading rumors about him, enjoyed an unexpected reprieve after prison officials could not find his veins in order to administer lethal injection before a midnight deadline

Alan Eugene Miller, who shot three co-workers who he believed were spreading rumors about him, enjoyed an unexpected reprieve after prison officials could not find his veins in order to administer lethal injection before a midnight deadline


Alan Miller, 57, who was convicted of killing three people in a workplace rampage in 1999, is currently enjoying an unannounced break in his cell after prison officials made the decision at approximately 11:30pm.

Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm stated that the state halted the execution of Miller after determining that the fatal injection could not be administered before the midnight deadline.

“Due to the lateness of the court proceedings, it was determined that the condemned inmate’s veins could not be reached in accordance with our protocol before the death warrant expired,” Hamm stated.

Alan Eugene Miller is seen being led away from the Pelham City Jail in Alabama on August 5, 1999. Miller was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on September 22, 2022 after a last minute decision by the Supreme Court cleared the way

Alan Eugene Miller is seen being led away from the Pelham City Jail in Alabama on August 5, 1999. Miller was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on September 22, 2022 after a last minute decision by the Supreme Court cleared the way

He did not know how long the Holman Correctional Facility execution team would attempt to get intravenous access. Miller had previously stated that he was terrified of needles.

The confusion was exacerbated by a ruling by the United States Supreme Court that had cleared the way for the execution to occur less than three hours prior.

Alan Eugene Miller, who shot three coworkers he suspected were spreading stories about him, had an unexpected reprieve when prison staff were unable to locate his veins in time to deliver a lethal injection before midnight.

Shelby County coroner's employees bring out one of two bodies from Ferguson Enterprises in Pelham, Alabama where two employees, Lee Holbrooks and Christopher Yancy were killed in August 1999 by Alan Eugene Miller

Shelby County coroner's employees bring out one of two bodies from Ferguson Enterprises in Pelham, Alabama where two employees, Lee Holbrooks and Christopher Yancy were killed in August 1999 by Alan Eugene Miller

On August 5, 1999, Alan Eugene Miller is pictured being carried away from the Pelham City Jail in Alabama. Miller was due to be executed by lethal injection on September 22, 2022, but a last-minute Supreme Court decision halted the execution.

Miller’s attorneys had contended that he had requested nitrogen hypoxia, which would be administered in this Alabama death chamber, and that lethal injection was unpleasant and barbaric.

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court removed an order granted by a federal judge and upheld by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Circuit Court of Appeals – which had previously halted Miller’s execution.

Miller  shot two co-workers to death at their office then killed a third person at a company where he used to work

Miller  shot two co-workers to death at their office then killed a third person at a company where he used to work

Miller’s counsel claim that the state lost the paperwork requesting that he be executed using nitrogen hypoxia, a legally permissible but never-before-used method in the United States.

When Alabama adopted nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method in 2018, state law allowed inmates a small opportunity to select it as their method of death.

Miller said that he selected nitrogen hypoxia as his execution method four years ago, placing the papers through a gap in his cell door at the Holman Correctional Facility for a prison employee to retrieve.

Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm

Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm

US District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr

Officials at the prison claimed they had no record of receiving the form and that Miller was merely attempting to delay his death.

He explained that he chose this method of execution to fatal injection because it reminded him of the nitrous oxide gas used in dental clinics, which seemed preferable.

Miller stated, “I did not want to be pricked with a needle.”

US District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday prohibiting the state from executing Miller by any means other than nitrogen hypoxia after determining that it was “substantially likely” that Miller “submitted a timely election form despite the State’s assertion that it has no physical record of a form.”

According to prosecutors, delivery truck driver Miller was sentenced to death for killing coworkers Lee Holdbrooks and Scott Yancy at a suburban Birmingham firm.

Shelby County coroner’s employees remove one of two remains from Ferguson Enterprises in Pelham, Alabama, where Alan Eugene Miller murdered Lee Holbrooks and Christopher Yancy in August 1999.

Miller murdered two coworkers in their office before killing a third person at a former workplace.

He then left to murder Miller’s former supervisor Terry Jarvis at the company where Miller had previously worked. Each man had several gunshot wounds, and Miller was apprehended following a highway pursuit.

Miller believed the men were spreading falsehoods about him, including that he was gay, according to trial testimony.

A defense-hired psychiatrist determined that Miller suffered from serious mental disease, but concluded that his condition was not severe enough to support an insanity defense under state law.

In July of 2000, an Alabama jury deliberated for 20 minutes before convicting Miller by a vote of 10 to 2 and determining that he should be executed. Two of the verdict’s appeals were refused.

We are devoted to maintaining law and order and protecting justice in Alabama. Regardless of the circumstances that led to the cancellation of this execution, nothing will alter the fact that a jury heard the evidence and rendered a verdict in this case.

It does not alter the fact that Mr. Miller never denied committing the offenses. And it does not alter the fact that three families continue to grieve,’ Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama stated in a statement.

Michael Holdbrooks, Terry Lee Jarvis, and Christopher Scott Yancey did not chose to die by gunshot to the chest, as we all know.

Ivey stated, “Tonight, my prayers are with the families and loved ones of the victims as they are forced to continue reliving the grief of their loss.”

Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm indicated that the execution had to be postponed owing to a lack of time – days after US District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr halted Alan Miller’s execution over the method of execution.

Although Alabama has legalized nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution, the state has never used it to carry out a death sentence, and the prison system has not yet completed protocols for utilizing it to carry out a death sentence.

Nitrogen hypoxia is a proposed form of execution in which the inmate’s death is caused by depriving him or her of the oxygen required for bodily functioning.

It is allowed as a method of execution in three states, but no state has attempted to execute a prisoner using the untested procedure. Officials from Alabama informed the judge that they are working to finish the protocol.

In recent years, several jurisdictions have struggled to get execution medications, as U.S. and European pharmaceutical corporations have blocked the use of their products in lethal injections. This has prompted some to seek alternatives.

The execution was halted after the execution of Joe Nathan James in July delayed more than three hours to begin due to difficulty in securing an intravenous line, leading to allegations that the execution was bungled.

Death by hypoxia due to Nitrogen

After 2002, Alabama transitioned from the electric chair to fatal injection; in 2018, lawmakers approved the use of a third method, nitrogen hypoxia, in response to defense challenges to injections and shortages of chemicals required for the injection procedure.

When the state of Alabama adopted nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative execution method, convicts were given a small period of time to select it as their execution method.

The detainee would die if they were forced to breathe just nitrogen and deprived of oxygen.

Legislators hypothesized that death by nitrogen hypoxia could be a more straightforward and humane means of execution, but detractors have compared the untested approach to human experimentation.

Hypoxia happens when an individual lacks enough oxygen.

To produce nitrogen hypoxia during an execution, the criminal would breathe a pure nitrogen gas mixture.

Either a medical-grade oxygen tent over the head or a facemask similar to those worn by firemen might be utilized to deliver the nitrogen.

In roughly fifteen seconds following the switch from oxygen to nitrogen, offenders would lose consciousness.

Approximately thirty seconds later, they would stop creating brain waves, and two to three minutes after that, the heart would stop beating.

In addition, nitrogen hypoxia would likely not result in the horrible deaths caused by cyanide gas executions.

The condemned individual would experience a short intoxication before losing consciousness and ultimately passing away.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, no state has used nitrogen hypoxia during an execution, nor has any state devised a protocol for its use.

Alabama has not yet devised a system for carrying out executions using nitrogen, but protocols are expected to be in place by the end of 2022.


↯↯↯Read More On The Topic On TDPel Media ↯↯↯