Court ruling sets stage for Alabama execution of Jamie Ray Mills

The 11th Circuit Court of Criminal Appeals denied two defense motions Tuesday seeking a delay in the execution of Jamie Ray Mills. The ruling sets the stage for Mills, 50, to be executed this week by the state of Alabama by lethal injection.

The defense can still seek a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court. The death warrant runs for a 30-hour period from midnight Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday.

If the execution goes forward, it will likely be after 6 p.m. Thursday at William C. Holman Correction Facility in Atmore. The Alabama Department of Corrections allows five media members to serve as witnesses for the execution. The media witnesses are told to report to the media center by 4 p.m. Thursday. ADOC emails to the witnesses say the execution states that “… the tentative start time…” is at 6 p.m., barring any pending legal matters.

Mills was convicted of three counts of capital murder in August 2007 for the 2004 beating deaths of an elderly Guin couple. The jury recommended the death penalty by a 11-1 vote. The trial judge took the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Mills to death.

If Mills is executed, it will be the second execution in the state for the year and there are two other executions pending.

In January, Kenneth Smith was executed by nitrogen hypoxia, the first time a human was executed by that method.
The Alabama Supreme Court has authorized the execution of Keith Edmund Gavin. Gov. Kay Ivey has set the execution date for midnight July 18 to 6 a.m. July 20, with lethal injection as the method.
The AG's office has asked that the execution of Alan Eugene Miller with nitrogen hypoxia as the method be authorized. Ivey has set the execution for midnight Sept. 26 to 6 a.m. Sept. 27.

In Mill’s case, Ivey has reserved the right to delay the execution.

"Although I have no current plans to grant clemency in this case, I retain my authority under the Constitution of the State of Alabama to grant a reprieve or commutation, if necessary, at any time before the execution is carried out," Ivey said in her letter to Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm, setting the execution date.

However, Ivey has not delayed an execution or granted a reprieve or commutation since becoming governor in 2017.

The crime

“There is no doubt that Mills committed those offenses,” the Alabama Attorney General’ s Office motion to the Alabama Supreme Court, seeking his execution states. “… Mills’ convictions and sentence are final because he has completed his direct appeal, state post-conviction review, and federal habeas review. Accordingly, it is time for this death sentence to be carried out.”

Mills and his wife, Joann, went to the Guin home of Vera Hill, 72, and Floyd Hill, 87, in June 2004 asking to make a phone call, court records and media accounts say. Mills was 30 at the time. Guin is in Marion County in northwest Alabama.

Afterward, the four of them went to a shed where the Hills kept items to sell as part of a yard sale, the Alabama Reflector reported.

The AG’s motion states that the women went back to the home, leaving Floyd Hill and Mills in the shed. Mills beat Hill, who fell to the ground. The women then returned to the shed and found Floyd Hill on the ground. Mills then beat Vera Hill on the back of the head with a hammer, as JoAnn stood in the corner.

Vera Hill died several months later from her injuries.

According to the motion, Jamie Mills then locked the shed and stole items valued at about $140 from the home including a tackle box, medicines, wallet, purse and police scanner.

Joann Mills, who testified against her husband, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Source: montgomeryadvertiser.com, Marty Roney, May 29, 2024

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