The second nitrogen gas execution in Alabama is scheduled to go place as planned with the decision of a death row inmate to forgo additional legal action against the state as part of a settlement.
Following their “confidential settlement,” Alan Miller and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge on Monday.
The event occurred one day prior to Miller’s 59-year-old planned federal hearing. Miller was attempting to stay his execution, which was supposed to happen on September 26 or 27.
Miller expressed doubts about the nitrogen gas technique in his complaint against the state following reports from journalists present at Kenneth Smith’s execution in January that the victim may have been subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.
Smith was the first person executed in the United States with nitrogen gas, a technique that was strongly denounced by human rights groups and the UN.
Miller had recommended that Alabama utilize medical-grade nitrogen for executions and allow a qualified individual to monitor the gas flow and sedative use within the chamber, among other modifications.
The settlement was heralded by the Attorney General’s office as a success for the application of the strategy in capital cases.
In a written statement, Marshall stated, “The resolution of this case confirms that Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia system is reliable and humane.”
Miller’s complaint was predicated on rumors in the media that Kenneth Smith was executed in January 2024 and that he was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment; however, the state provided Miller’s legal team with evidence that refuted that false claim.
Klebaner, however, disputed the assertion made in a press statement issued by Marshall’s office that the settlement “successfully defends constitutionality” of nitrogen executions.
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“No court upheld the constitutionality of the state’s proposed nitrogen hypoxia method of execution in Mr Miller’s case, thus the state’s claim that it ‘successfully defend(ed)’ that method’s ‘constitutionality’ is incorrect. By definition, a settlement agreement does not involve a ruling on the merits of the underlying claim,” she stated.
In 1999, Miller was found guilty of shooting and killing Terry Jarvis, Lee Holdbrooks, and Scott Yancy. He was attempted to be executed by the state in September 2022, but they missed a midnight deadline due to procedural violations.
After the botched attempt, Miller had decided to be executed by nitrogen gas.
