Failed Lethal-Injection Execution of Alan Eugene Miller

On September 22, 2022, Alabama attempted to execute Alan Eugene Miller using lethal injection. The procedure became a documented example in the modern U.S. history of botched executions.

What happened

The execution team spent at least 90 minutes attempting catheter placement and punctured Miller repeatedly before the effort was stopped. Alabama later agreed not to try lethal injection again. Miller was ultimately executed by nitrogen hypoxia in 2024.

Result

The immediate result was that Alan Eugene Miller survived after Alabama was unable to establish IV access before the execution warrant expired. This is an important distinction in the broader history of execution failures: some botched procedures ultimately kill the prisoner after a prolonged or visibly problematic process, while others are abandoned and leave the prisoner alive.

Why the case is classified as botched

The Death Penalty Information Center’s historical compilation uses a research definition centered on breakdowns or departures from execution protocol that produce unanticipated problems, delays, possible unnecessary suffering, or gross operational incompetence. The Alan Eugene Miller case fits that framework because the intended lethal injection process did not proceed in the controlled manner the state expected.

Historical context

The event page is kept separate from the person profile so later work can attach the correct prison, execution protocol, court litigation, officials, method history and state-level death-penalty context without overloading the biography.

Sources

– Death Penalty Information Center — Botched Executions (case entry for Alan Eugene Miller)