The State of Alabama has asked a federal appeals court to allow the lethal injection of an Alabama man that a federal judge previously blocked.
U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker, Jr. issued a preliminary injunction to block the state from executing Alan Eugene Miller by lethal injection, saying the inability for Miller to die by his preferred method would withhold Miller’s “final dignity.”
Miller’s preferred method is nitrogen hypoxia, a means of execution that the state is currently preparing.
Miller was sentenced after being convicted of murdering three coworkers in a shooting rampage. A defense psychiatrist said Miller was delusional and suffered from severe mental illness, which caused him to believe his coworkers were spreading rumors about his sexual orientation.
Miller claims he requested execution by nitrogen hypoxia in 2018, but his request was mishandled by prison staff, a claim denied by corrections officials.
Since Huffaker previously compelled the State to admit it did not have the capacity to perform a nitrogen hypoxia execution, Miller’s future execution date is still up in the air.
The Alabama Department of Corrections told the judge last week that Alabama “has completed many of the preparations necessary for conducting executions by nitrogen hypoxia” but is currently incapable of carrying it out.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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