By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
The clock continues to wind down for 57-year-old Alan Eugene Miller, who was sentenced to die for the 1999 murders of three Birmingham-area men. Miller’s execution is set for next Thursday, September 22.
Miller, who is said to be mentally disturbed but not enough to justify his deadly shooting rampage of 23 years ago, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at Holman Correctional Facility, near Atmore.
According to a release from the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), once the Supreme Court of Alabama has issued an execution warrant setting the date for an execution, ADOC has until 11:59 p.m. on that date to carry out the sentence before the warrant expires.
While the timeline for executions begins at approximately 6 p.m., the condemned inmate is not put to death until all court proceedings are exhausted.
According to court documents, Miller believed the three men he shot to death were spreading rumors about him, including that he was gay. A psychiatrist testified at trial that Miller was mentally ill, but his condition wasn’t bad enough to base an insanity defense upon.
The U.S. Supreme Court refused in October an appeal by Miller, who claimed that no aggravating circumstances were specified during his trial that made him eligible for the death penalty.
If Miller is not granted a stay, he will become the third Alabama Death Row inmate this year to pay the ultimate price for his crimes. Matthew Reeves was executed in January for the 1996 murder of a Selma man, and Joe Nathan James Jr. was executed in July for the 1994 murder of his former girlfriend in Birmingham.