The state of Alabama executed Alan Eugene Miller, the second man in the nation to be put to death by nitrogen gas, for a 1999 triple homicide after a failed attempt by lethal injection in 2022. Miller was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. after struggling and gasping upon the gas flow, with movements described as involuntary by Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm. Miller was convicted of killing three people during workplace shootings in 1999 and had been on death row since 2000. A deal was reached with the state to use nitrogen gas hypoxia for the execution after staff could not access his veins for the IV lines in the previous attempt. The new method has drawn controversy and criticism, with the Biden administration expressing concern and the Vatican protesting. Commissioner Hamm described the execution as following department protocol and Alabama has offered to assist other states in adopting nitrogen-asphyxiation executions. Miller was convicted of shootings fueled by delusions about the victims spreading rumors. Alabama plans to conduct at least two more executions this year, with one scheduled for lethal injection and the other for nitrogen hypoxia. The execution method has raised ethical concerns and has been condemned by various organizations for its untested nature and potential physical effects on the condemned.
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