Alabama administers lethal injection to death row inmate Jamie Mills for 2004 murder of elderly couple

Jamie Ray Mills, 50, received a lethal injection this Thursday in Alabama. With this, he became the first inmate executed by the state since Alabama became the first state in the country to use nitrogen gas for an execution a few months ago.

According to authorities, Mills was pronounced dead at 6:26 p.m. local time after receiving a dose of three drugs at a prison in southwest Alabama.

Although Alabama has already sentenced an inmate to death with nitrogen, lethal injection remains the default execution method in the state.

The only way for an execution not to be done by injection is for an inmate to expressly request the use of nitrogen gas or the electric chair to carry out the death penalty.

Mills’ conviction stems from his conviction in 2007 of capital murder in the death of 87-year-old Floyd Hill and his wife Vera, 72 years old.

This elderly couple, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, was attacked in 2004 by Mills with a hammer, a machete, and a tire tool in his house.

Three years later, a jury convicted Jamie Mills of capital murder and subsequently voted 11-1 in favor of the death sentence.

Kay Ivey, governor of Alabama, addressed the execution in a statement: “Tonight, two decades after he committed these murders, Jamie Mills has paid the price for his heinous crimes. I pray for the victims and their loved ones.”

The Alabama Department of Corrections said Mills had a peaceful end to life, receiving calls, visits and a pleasant last meal.

“On May 29, 2024, Mills had 6 visitors and 6 phone calls,” the department’s statement said. “On May 30, 2024, he had 6 visitors, no phone calls, accepted his breakfast tray, and had a final meal of seafood.”

According to AP news, at the beginning of the execution, Mills gave his thumbs up in a gesture toward members of his family who were watching the execution from a witness room. Later, pointing to them, he said, “I love you.”

Likewise, several relatives of the victims witnessed the execution and noted that twenty years after the murders, justice was finally done.

“Our family now can have some closure to this heinous crime that he committed and our loving grandparents can rest in peace. Let this be a lesson for those that believe justice will not find you. Hopefully, this will prevent others from committing future crimes. God help us all,” the Hill and Freeman families said in a statement.