Alabama officials recently released unredacted documents about the state’s first nitrogen gas execution in January. These documents reveal the identity of the execution team captain, his observations from the death chamber, and concerns from another inmate scheduled for a similar execution.
The documents, filed in the case of Alan Eugene Miller, who survived a lethal injection attempt in 2022 and is set to be executed by nitrogen gas in September, provide new details. Miller has filed a federal lawsuit to stop his execution, arguing that nitrogen hypoxia may cause more pain and delay death.
In a deposition, Miller raised concerns about the execution team’s ability to properly secure a mask on his face for the nitrogen gas. He suggested a medical professional should handle the mask due to his larger size, expressing doubts based on his past experiences with masks.
The Alabama attorney general’s office and the Department of Corrections are aware of the documents but haven’t commented. They have filed a motion to seal parts of their response, claiming that disclosing the execution team’s names could lead to harassment.
The documents also provide insight into Kenneth Smith’s execution by nitrogen gas on January 25, the first in the U.S. using this method. Smith had previously survived a lethal injection attempt. Witnesses reported he thrashed violently, which the state denied was due to issues with the mask. Miller’s deposition revealed that a state lawyer suggested Smith could have lost consciousness sooner if he had breathed deeply.
Miller, convicted in 1999, was initially scheduled for lethal injection in 2022, but the procedure was halted when staff failed to find a vein. Miller had chosen nitrogen hypoxia as his execution method when it was still untested. He has claimed the state did not test the mask’s fit but declined an offer to do so.
The execution captain stated he was trained to secure masks and had never encountered a fitting issue. However, experts argue that the state’s protocol might not ensure an airtight seal and that Smith’s distress could be due to prolonged suffocation.
The next day, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall defended the execution process, calling it “textbook.”