On Friday, attorneys representing an Alabama prisoner requested a judge to prevent the second execution planned to use nitrogen gas, stating that the first execution was a shocking occurrence that contradicts the prohibition against inhumane and unusual punishment.
Alan Eugene Miller, who survived a failed lethal injection attempt in 2022, is set to be executed on September 26th in Alabama using a new method. His lawyers argued that the first nitrogen execution, which took place in January and resulted in the death of Kenneth Smith, was highly problematic as Smith was shaking and convulsing on the gurney for several minutes before passing away.
In an effort to halt the execution of Miller, his legal team has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction with a federal judge. The motion requests that the execution be stopped altogether or that the state at least change its current protocol. It’s worth noting that Alabama employs an industrial-grade gas mask to administer pure nitrogen to the inmate, which ultimately deprives them of the necessary oxygen required to sustain their bodily functions.
In January, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall stated that Smith’s execution was executed “textbook” and announced that the state will pursue more death sentences using nitrogen gas. It is important to note that lethal injection still remains the primary method of execution in the state.
Before his scheduled execution in 2022, Miller had advocated for nitrogen gas as his preferred method of execution. However, due to his weight of 351 pounds, the state was unable to properly administer the lethal injection and the execution was cancelled. As a result, the state agreed to never attempt lethal injection on Miller again and to instead use nitrogen gas for any future execution attempts. It is important to note that the state had not yet established a protocol for the use of nitrogen gas at the time of this agreement.
