Alan Eugene Miller, who was slated for execution by the state of Alabama for a shooting rampage on August 5, 1999, resulting in the deaths of three men in Shelby County, narrowly escaped execution just minutes before midnight, as the state’s death warrant was on the verge of expiration.
The execution was called off around 11:30 p.m. due to the inability to access Miller’s veins within the prescribed execution protocol time limits, as revealed by Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm during a press briefing at the prison system’s media center. Consequently, the 57-year-old Miller was returned to his death row cell.
Hamm conveyed that the families of the victims had been informed of the decision to halt the execution, and Governor Kay Ivey extended her thoughts and prayers to them. He stated, “Due to the time constraints resulting in the lateness of the court proceedings, the execution was called off once it was determined the condemned’s veins could not be accessed in accordance with our protocol before the expiration of the death warrant.”