US Execution: two inmates executed by lethal injection, nitrogen gas

Officials in Oklahoma City reported that a man was executed by lethal injection on Thursday. In Alabama, nitrogen gas was utilized during the execution, which is the second time this technique has been employed in the US.

The two murders raise the total number of executions that have occurred in the US this year to 18, five of which have occurred in the last week.

Emmanuel Littlejohn, 52, was put to death in Oklahoma by lethal injection for the 1992 convenience store heist that killed Kenneth Meers, 31.

He has never acknowledged shooting Meers, even though he has acknowledged being there.

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He and his accomplice Glenn Bethany both claimed responsibility for the murder.

Both men were found guilty of murder; however, Bethany was given a life term in prison, while Littlejohn was given the death penalty.

When some members of the victim’s family opposed the commuting of Littlejohn’s sentence in August, the State Board of Pardons nonetheless approved it.

In an interview with NPR on Wednesday, Littlejohn urged Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to step in.

“Governor, don’t kill me for the heck of it,” Littlejohn said.

In the end, the request was turned down by Republican Stitt, who had only once used his mercy authority.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said Thursday that “justice has been served for the murder of Kenny Meers.”

Following a 1999 shooting rampage at work that claimed the lives of three coworkers, Lee Holdbrooks, Christopher Scott Yancy, and Terry Lee Jarvis, Alan Miller was executed in Alabama.

Miller,59, was put to death in the Atmore prison by asphyxiating himself with nitrogen gas through a facemask.

Alabama employed the controversial technique for the first time in January, even though the UN has likened it to torture.

Miller suffocated for two minutes, writhing and shivering as he strained against the straps on the gurney, according to local media.

His movements were similar to, but not as forceful as, the initial usage of nitrogen hypoxia, according to local media.

Kenneth Smith, 58, is said to have thrashed around for several minutes during the earlier execution.

State officials eventually explained Smith’s spasms as an attempt to hold his breath.

The White House, under Democratic President Joe Biden, expressed “deep concern” about Alabama’s usage of nitrogen in January.

It also garnered criticism from civil liberties organizations, the European Union, and the United Nations Human Rights Office.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, a Republican, has previously stated that she would not exercise her mercy power for Miller.

A previous effort to execute Miller via lethal injection in September 2022 was canceled at the last minute due to difficulty inserting the intravenous catheter and administering the fatal drugs within the permitted time.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states. Six other states (Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee) have a governor-issued moratorium on executions.