Alabama is seeking to carry out its second execution using nitrogen gas, just weeks after being the first state in the nation to use this controversial method. The state's Attorney General has petitioned Alabama's Supreme Court to set an execution date for Alan Eugene Miller, a death row inmate since 2000, found guilty of the 1999 workplace shootings that took the lives of Terry Jarvis, Lee Holdbrooks, and Scott Yancy.

Alan Eugene Miller previously faced a failed lethal injection attempt in September 2022, leading him to file a federal lawsuit against prison staff alleging mistreatment during the procedure. In response, the state agreed not to use lethal injection in his execution but to proceed with nitrogen gas.

The UN has criticized the use of nitrogen gas for executions, with High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk expressing concerns about the potential for the method to amount to torture or cruel treatment. Alabama's Attorney General, Steve Marshall, stated that it was "the appropriate time for the execution of [Miller's] sentence."

The state's first nitrogen gas execution, carried out in January with Kenneth Eugene Smith, sparked controversy as witnesses reported Smith thrashing violently on the gurney before succumbing 25 minutes later. International bodies and activists opposed to the death penalty condemned the use of nitrogen gas in executions, highlighting its potential for inflicting cruel and inhuman suffering.

Alabama's decision to utilize nitrogen gas for executions aligns with a national trend as the drugs used in lethal injections have become increasingly difficult to obtain, leading some states like Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi to opt for alternative methods.