Controversy Surrounds Alabama's Pioneering Nitrogen-Asphyxiation Execution

Alabama executed Alan Miller using nitrogen-asphyxiation, a method claimed to be less painful than lethal injection but potentially inhumane. Witnesses reported Miller's distress before death. The method has drawn criticism from human rights experts and the Biden administration. Alabama defends it, offering to aid other states in adopting the practice.

Alabama executed convicted murderer Alan Miller on Thursday using nitrogen-asphyxiation, the second instance of its kind since the state introduced the method. It claims to be less painful than lethal injection, although human rights experts argue it may constitute torture.

Witnesses recounted that the 65-year-old struggled violently and gasped for air for several minutes before succumbing. Miller, convicted of murdering three individuals in 1999, including two co-workers, was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. local time.

The new execution method has prompted significant controversy. While the state defends nitrogen-asphyxiation as a feasible alternative amid drug shortages for lethal injections, critics, including the Biden administration and U.N. human rights officials, have condemned it as potentially cruel and inhuman. Alabama remains resolute, even offering assistance to other states considering the method.

(With inputs from agencies.)