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

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Facebook | Telegram | Contact Us

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Texas inmate seeks to stop looming execution after codefendant confesses to double murder

In his appeal, James Broadnax, who wants a new trial, included a signed confession by his cousin saying he committed the 2008 Garland murders. With just 42 days remaining until his scheduled execution by lethal injection on April 30, 2026, in Huntsville, Texas death row inmate James Broadnax, 37, filed a new appeal Thursday with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, seeking to stay the date, remand his case for a new trial, and ultimately vacate his death sentence for the 2008 capital murders of music producers Stephen Swan, 26, and Matthew Butler, 28, outside their Zion Gate Records studio in Garland. A fabricated story The appeal centers on a signed written declaration from Broadnax's cousin and codefendant, Demarius Cummings, 37—dated March 11 and obtained by media outlets in which Cummings confesses that he alone planned the June 19, 2008, robbery, obtained the pistol used in the crime, and fired the fatal shots during the botched holdup that netted only $2 in cash and a 1995 Fo...

Iranian Gay Activist: "They Forced Me to Watch Executions So I Would Know How Mine Would Be"

Iranian LGBT activist now living as a refugee in Spain. He was sentenced to death by the ayatollah regime for being homosexual and for his support campaign for the community. "The enemy was already at home," he says about the current war In 11 countries around the world, homosexuality is punishable by death - it is criminalized in almost 70 countries. One of them is the Islamic Republic of Iran, from where Ramtin Zigorat (Tabriz, 1988) managed to escape after avoiding a death sentence and enduring the worst tortures. He has been living as a refugee in Spain for six and a half years. Question . His life, his testimony, can help us better understand what the Iranian Islamist regime is. I believe that until adolescence, you did not fully understand that you were homosexual.

Once Nevada’s youngest on death row, double murderer paroled as victims’ family claims silence from state

LAS VEGAS — A man who once stood as the youngest person on Nevada’s death row has officially transitioned from a life behind bars to a life under supervision, following his release from High Desert State Prison last month. Edward Michael Domingues, 49, was released on parole on Feb. 13, 2026. His freedom marks the end of 32 consecutive years of incarceration for the 1993 murders of Arjin Chanel Pechpho and her 4-year-old son, Jonathan Smith. Since his release, the case has ignited a renewed debate over Nevada’s victim notification systems. Tawin Eshelman, the mother and grandmother of the victims, confirmed that the family was never formally notified of the parole hearing that led to Domingues' freedom.

Georgia | 11th Circuit confirms lethal injection execution for Georgia inmate wanting firing squad

In his complaint, Michael Wade Nance said his veins were so severely compromised that they were likely to blow and cause him to suffer “excruciating pain” during the execution. ATLANTA (CN) — A panel for the 11th Circuit on Thursday upheld a judge’s ruling against a death row inmate who sought an execution by a firing squad instead of lethal injection. The decision paves the way for the state’s long-awaited execution of Michael Wade Nance, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death over 25 years ago. In a unanimous opinion, the circuit judges agreed with a federal judge’s conclusion that Nance failed to prove lethal injection was likely to cause him an unconstitutional level of pain or discomfort.

Arizona | Death Row Inmate Challenges Execution Warrant, Citing 2025 Cyberattack and Protocol Failures

Leroy Dean McGill was sentenced to death for a 2002 gasoline attack in North Phoenix against a couple, Charles Perez and Nova Banta. PHOENIX — Attorneys for Arizona death row inmate Leroy Dean McGill have formally challenged the state’s attempt to secure an execution warrant, citing a catastrophic 2025 cyberattack and a long history of troubled lethal injection protocols. The challenge comes as Arizona seeks to resume capital punishment following a year-long hiatus. If the Arizona Supreme Court grants the state’s request, McGill would become the first person executed in the state since 2024.

Taiwan’s Oldest Death Row Prisoner Denied Retrial by Supreme Court

TAIWAN’S OLDEST DEATH ROW prisoner, Wang Xin-fu, has been denied a retrial by the Supreme Court. This occurs despite the fact that Wang has consistently maintained his innocence and, in fact, did not commit the murders for which he is on death row. In particular, Wang was sentenced to capital punishment in 2006 over the killing of two police officers at a karaoke bar in 1990. The shooting was committed by Chen Rong-jie, who was then 19. Wang was accused of ordering the hit. It is believed that Wang’s confession of guilt was extracted through torture and intimidation.

Florida executes Michael King

Killer of stay-at-home mom whose death led to 911 reform is executed Michael King kidnapped Denise Amber Lee from her Florida home in broad daylight in 2008. If it weren't for a botched 911 call, Lee may have survived the ordeal. Florida has executed a death row inmate for the rape and murder of a stay-at-home mom whose death exposed the vulnerabilities of the 911 system nationwide and led to reform within the industry. Michael King, 54, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, March 17, for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 21-year-old Denise Amber Lee. King abducted the married mother of 2 young sons from her home in broad daylight on Jan. 17, 2008, less than an hour before Lee's husband returned from work.

Florida Supreme Court halts execution of police officer convicted of raping, murdering girl

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — The execution of a former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl was temporarily halted Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court. The court issued a stay in execution for 68-year-old James Aren Duckett, who was scheduled to receive a three-drug injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke. Duckett was sentenced to death in 1988 after being convicted of first-degree murder and sexual battery.

Alabama | Death row inmate granted clemency shares emotional message on day he was set to die

Alabama governor commuted death sentence of Charles Burton, 75, who didn't kill anyone An Alabama man who was outside a building when a man was killed in an armed robbery is looking at life as "a gift from God" after being granted clemency by the state’s governor just days before he was scheduled to be executed. Charles "Sonny" Burton, 75, was sentenced to death for his role in the robbery of a Talladega AutoZone store that left a man dead in 1991. While Burton left the store before Derrick DeBruce gunned down customer Doug Battle, he was tried and convicted as an accomplice, with prosecutors insisting Burton acted as the group’s leader in the armed robbery.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog