Ala. attorney general appeals after federal judge blocks upcoming lethal injection in Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WBRC) - A U.S. judge on Monday blocked Alabama from executing an inmate who says the state lost his paperwork requesting an alternative to lethal injection.

U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker, Jr. issued a preliminary injunction to block the state from executing Alan Miller by any method other than nitrogen hypoxia. The ruling blocks Alabama from carrying out the lethal injection that had been set for Thursday.

On Tuesday Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a motion to appeal that order.

“The Alabama Attorney General’s Office will appeal the federal district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction of inmate Alan Eugene Miller’s execution scheduled for September 22, 2022,” The attourney general’s office said in a statement.

Miller testified last week that he returned a state form selecting nitrogen on the same day it was distributed to inmates by a prison worker.

Alabama has not yet finalized procedures for using nitrogen to carry out death sentences.

Alabama Department of Corrections released this statement: “ADOC’s role is limited to its statutory duty of carrying out executions according to lawful court order. ADOC will continue to plan and prepare for Thursday’s execution pending any court proceedings.”

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