It's been one week since Alabama used nitrogen gas to execute a man convicted of killing three people in back-to-back workplace shootings in 1999.
It was the second time the method that has generated debate about its humaneness has been used in the country. Now, a Montgonery nonprofit will hold a panel discussion about the impact of the death penalty in Alabama.
Alan Eugene Miller, 59, was executed at a south Alabama prison on Sept. 26. He shook and trembled on the gurney for about two minutes with his body at times pulling against the restraints. That was followed by about six minutes of periodic gulping breaths before he became still.
Miller was one of five inmates put to death in the span of one week, an unusually high number that defies a yearslong trend of decline in the use of the death penalty in the U.S.
The execution was the second to use the new method Alabama first employed in January, when Kenneth Smith was put to death. The method involves placing a respirator gas mask over the inmate’s face to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death by lack of oxygen.
Alabama officials and advocates have argued over whether Smith suffered an unconstitutional level of pain during his execution after he shook in seizure-like spasms for several minutes, at times rocking the gurney. Smith then gasped for breath for several minutes. The shaking exhibited by Miller was similar to what was seen at the first nitrogen gas execution but did not seem as long or as violent.
Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm said the shaking movements were anticipated.
“Just like in Smith we talked about there is going to be involuntarily body movements as the body is depleted of oxygen. So that was nothing we did not expect,” Hamm said, explaining the nitrogen gas flowed for 15 minutes. “Everything went according to plan and according to our protocol.”
On Thursday, Oct. 10 the ACLU of Alabama and the Alabama Post-Conviction Relief Project (APCRP) will lead a panel discussion about the impact of the death penalty in Alabama. The event will take place at The Station at 5 Points at 400 Mobile Street in Montgomery.
The nonprofit says next Thursday’s panel, “Beyond the Sentence: The Impact of the Death Penalty,” will also include family members of individuals on death row and others working with individuals who are directly affected by it.
Each will share their personal experiences and discuss the emotional and social consequences of the death penalty. Father Manuel Williams, the current Pastor of Resurrection Catholic Church and Director of Resurrection Catholic Missions of the South, will provide a keynote message.
There are approximately 162 people on death row in Alabama, and since 1983, Alabama has executed 73 individuals, reports the ACLU of Alabama. All but one were men.
Alabama is the only government in the world ever to execute a person with nitrogen gas. Only Texas has executed more people in 2024. Alabama has two more executions scheduled before the end of the year.
Speakers of the panel discussion include:
- Laurel Hattix (Moderator), Staff Attorney, The ACLU of Alabama
- LeAndrew Hood, Organizer and eldest son of Rocky Myers
- Eric Brown, Attorney working on death penalty cases
- Miriam Bankston, Social worker working with people on death row
- Callie Greer, Advocate and Community Organizer
- Father Manuel Williams, Pastor, Resurrection Catholic Church and Director, Resurrection Catholic Missions of the South
