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Alabama conducted more executions in 2024 than any other U.S. state, a fact Attorney General Steve Marshall celebrated in a Dec. 20 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Death Penalty Information Center, a non-profit dedicated to presenting issues concerning capital punishment in the U.S., said in their end of year report, that the state executed a total of six inmates: Kenneth Smith, Jamie Mills, Keith Gavin, Alan Miller, Derrick Dearman, and Carey Grayson.
DPI’s website states, “DPI does not take a position on the death penalty itself but is critical of problems in its application.”
This year marks the first time Alabama has led the U.S. in executions, tripling the number of incarcerated people executed by the state in 2023.
Alongside a screenshot of an AL.com story reporting DPI’s findings, Marshall wrote, “This has been a team effort. I would like to thank Commissioner John Hamm and @ALCorrections, as well as my dedicated group of capital litigators, for delivering long-awaited justice for each of these victims.”
Smith, Miller, and Grayson, also marked the first inmates killed in the U.S. by the inhalation of nitrogen gas, a method which drew criticism as an untested and inhumane means of execution. The circumstances surrounding these executions sparked backlash calling for the discontinuation of nitrogen executions.
Marshall has been a vocal supporter of the death penalty as well as nitrogen hypoxia executions throughout 2024.
“What occurred last night was textbook,” Marshall told reporters following Smith’s execution. “As of last night, nitrogen hypoxia as a means of execution is no longer an untested method. It is a proven one. It’s the method that Kenneth Smith ultimately chose, along with 43 other death row inmates in our state.”
Witnesses reported that Smith, whose Jan. 25 execution was conducted by nitrogen hypoxia after he survived a botched lethal injection attempt in 2022, “shook and writhed” on the gurney for several minutes before being declared dead. At around 7:58 p.m., Smith was reported to have begun writhing violently, and it took until around 8:08 p.m. for his breathing to no longer be visible.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent in Smith’s case, “Having failed to kill Smith on its first attempt, Alabama has selected him as its ‘guinea pig’ to test a method of execution never attempted before. The world is watching… With deep sadness, but commitment to the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment, I respectfully dissent.”
Miller, who similarly survived a lethal injection attempt in 2022, also struggled against his restraints and convulsed for around two minutes before being declared dead.
The execution of Grayson, who was convicted for the 1996 murder of Vickie DeBlieux, drew similar criticism, including from Deblieux’s daughter, Jodi Haley.
“Revenge, to me, an eye for an eye justification, is not right. We use that justification, but then in that same breath we say, ‘Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.’ We have to make up our minds because you can’t ride two horses with one ass,” Haley said of Grayson’s death.
Marshall on the other hand said of the execution, “My hope is that one day it will not take three decades to provide justice for other victims of violent crimes.”
Marshall’s post drew criticism from some X users who took issue with the Attorney General championing the state leading the U.S. in executions, half of which were carried out by a method many consider inhumane.
Several users took aim at Marshall, who has openly asserted his devout religiosity, for appearing to glorify these deaths during the holiday season. Marshall’s website describes him as “a man of deep faith with an impeccable reputation,” highlighting his attendance of the Montgomery chapter of Church of the Highlands.
One user wrote, “Takes a ‘Team effort’ to lead the nation in government sanctioned murder at the taxpayer’s expense. Great work, Steve. Super pro-life of you.”
“Death for Christmas…God would be so proud,” another wrote.
DPI reported Americans’ support for the death penalty reached a five-decade low of 53 percent in 2024. The number of Americans who found the death penalty morally acceptable also decreased from 60 percent in 2023 to 55 percent this year.
Marshall took to X again on Dec. 23 to criticize President Joe Biden for commuting the death sentences of 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row, writing, “The Biden Administration continues its record of prioritizing criminals over crime victims. For those families hurting from this ill-informed decision, know that change is coming.”
All inmates who had their death sentences commuted by Biden will remain in prison for life without the possibility of parole.
DPI found that Alabama, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma were responsible for 76 percent of U.S. executions in 2024.
The organization also reported of the 26 people newly sentenced to death in 2024, four were inmates in Alabama.
Over 40 percent of 2024’s new death sentences occurred in Alabama or Florida, the only states in which non-unanimous juries may impose capital punishment. Nine of these eleven death sentences were non-unanimous decisions.
