Current:Home > MarketsAlabama to move forward with nitrogen gas execution in September after lawsuit settlement-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Alabama to move forward with nitrogen gas execution in September after lawsuit settlement
View Date:2025-01-11 07:16:45
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s attorney general said Monday that another nitrogen gas execution will go forward in September after the state reached a settlement agreement with the inmate slated to be the second person put to death with the new method.
Alabama and attorneys for Alan Miller, who was convicted of killing three men, reached a “confidential settlement agreement” to end litigation filed by Miller, according to a court document filed Monday. Miller’s lawsuit cited witness descriptions of the January execution of Kenneth Smith with nitrogen gas as he sought to block the state from using the same protocol on him.
The court records did not disclose the terms of the agreement. Miller had suggested several changes to the state’s nitrogen gas protocol, including the use of medical grade nitrogen, having a trained professional supervise the gas flow and the use of sedative before the execution. Will Califf, a spokesman for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he could not confirm if the state had agreed to make changes to execution procedures.
“Miller entered into a settlement on favorable terms to protect his constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishments,” Mara E. Klebaner, an attorney representing Miller wrote in an email Monday night.
Marshall described the settlement as a victory for the use of nitrogen gas as an execution method. His office said it will allow Miller’s execution to be carried out in September with nitrogen gas.
“The resolution of this case confirms that Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia system is reliable and humane,” Marshall said in a statement.
“Miller’s complaint was based on media speculation that Kenneth Smith suffered cruel and unusual punishment in the January 2024 execution, but what the state demonstrated to Miller’s legal team undermined that false narrative. Miller’s execution will go forward as planned in September.”
Marshall’s office had titled a press release announcing the settlement that the attorney general “successfully defends constitutionality” of nitrogen executions. An attorney for Miller disputed Marshall’s assessment.
“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,” Klebaner wrote in an email.
The settlement was filed a day before a federal judge was scheduled to hold a hearing in Miller’s request to block his upcoming Sept. 26 execution. Klebaner said that by entering into a settlement agreement that the state avoided a public hearing in the case.
Alabama executed Smith in January in the first execution using nitrogen gas. The new execution method uses a respirator mask fitted over the inmate’s face to replace their breathing air with nitrogen gas, causing the person to die from lack of oxygen.
Attorneys for Miller had pointed to witness descriptions of Smith shaking in seizure-like spasms for several minutes during his execution. The attorneys argued that nation’s first nitrogen execution was “disaster” and the state’s protocol did not deliver the quick death that the state promised a federal court that it would.
The state argued that Smith had held his breath which caused the execution to take longer than anticipated.
Miller, a delivery truck driver, was convicted of killing three men — Terry Jarvis, Lee Holdbrooks and Scott Yancy — during back-to-back workplace shootings in 1999.
Alabama had previously attempted to execute Miller by lethal injection. But the state called off the execution after being unable to connect an IV line to the 351-pound inmate. The state and Miller agreed that any other execution attempt would be done with nitrogen gas.
veryGood! (95717)
Related
- Denzel Washington Will Star in Black Panther 3 Before Retirement
- Analysis: India Takes Unique Path to Lower Carbon Emissions
- New York City’s Solar Landfill Plan Finds Eager Energy Developers
- U.S. Army soldier Cole Bridges pleads guilty to attempting to help ISIS murder U.S. troops
- Democrat Janelle Bynum flips Oregon’s 5th District, will be state’s first Black member of Congress
- This winter's U.S. COVID surge is fading fast, likely thanks to a 'wall' of immunity
- Clean Energy Investment ‘Bank’ Has Bipartisan Support, But No Money
- Florida Fracking Ban Bill Draws Bipartisan Support
- Special counsel Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump’s classified documents case
- Elizabeth Holmes, once worth $4.5 billion, says she can't afford to pay victims $250 a month
Ranking
- Walmart Planned to Remove Oven Before 19-Year-Old Employee's Death
- Jimmie Allen's Estranged Wife Alexis Shares Sex of Baby No. 3
- What kind of perfectionist are you? Take this 7-question quiz to find out
- Ariana Madix Reveals the Shocking First Time She Learned Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss Had Sex
- Judge hears case over Montana rule blocking trans residents from changing sex on birth certificate
- UN Proposes Protecting 30% of Earth to Slow Extinctions and Climate Change
- The Top Moisturizers for Oily Skin: SkinMedica, Neutrogena, La Roche-Posay and More
- Government Shutdown Raises Fears of Scientific Data Loss, Climate Research Delays
Recommendation
-
Louisiana asks court to block part of ruling against Ten Commandments in classrooms
-
Trump delivered defiant speech after indictment hearing. Here's what he said.
-
Arctic’s 2nd-Warmest Year Puts Wildlife, Coastal Communities Under Pressure
-
The Federal Reserve is pausing rate hikes for the first time in 15 months. Here's the financial impact.
-
NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Bobby Allison dies at 86
-
Coach Just Restocked Its Ultra-Cool, Upcycled Coachtopia Collection
-
Ryan Dorsey Shares How Son Josey Honored Late Naya Rivera on Mother's Day
-
Can you bond without the 'love hormone'? These cuddly rodents show it's possible