Execution called off amid struggle to access veins
ALABAMA officials called off the lethal injection of a man convicted of shooting three people because of time concerns and trouble accessing the inmate’s veins.
Alabama Corrections commissioner John Hamm said the state halted the scheduled execution of Alan Miller after they determined they could not get the lethal injection under way before a midnight deadline.
Prison officials made the decision at about 11.30pm on Thursday. The last-minute reprieve came nearly three hours after a divided US Supreme Court cleared the way for the execution to begin.
“Due to time constraints resulting from the lateness of the court proceedings, the execution was called off once it was determined the condemned inmate’s veins could not be accessed in accordance with our protocol before the expiration of the death warrant,” Mr Hamm said.
The 57-year-old was convicted of killing three people in a 1999 workplace rampage, drawing the death sentence.