International News
Jamie Ray Mills, a 50-year-old death row inmate, dined on an assorted seafood plate before receiving a lethal injection for beating an elderly couple to death and robbing them.
Mills had a last meal consisting of three oysters, three large shrimp, two catfish filets, a stuffed crab, and three onion rings on Thursday before being executed at 6:26 pm, the Montgomery Advertiser reported.
At Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Mills was strapped to a gurney with an IV connected to each arm. Given the chance to make a final statement, he declared: “I love my family. I love my brother and sister. I couldn’t ask for anything more… I love y’all. Carry on.” Mills prayed with a spiritual adviser and flashed thumbs up at his witnesses, including some family members, a few times. He appeared to stop breathing four minutes after the injection was administered.
“For the past 20 years our family has been seeking justice,” stated the Hill family after the execution. “Justice has been served.”
Mills is the first to be put to death in Alabama since the state became the first in the US to authorize execution by nitrogen gas in January, despite the latter inmate’s fight against the never-before-used method. Mills, a double murderer, maintained his innocence until death. He was convicted of fatally beating Floyd and Vera Hill in their home in Guin and robbing them of $140 and medication.
According to court records, Mills and his wife JoAnn knocked on the couple’s door asking to use the phone, which they were allowed to do. Moments later, Mills attacked Floyd, 87, in a shed using a hammer, tire tool, machete, and ball peen. Mills then struck Vera, 72, in the back of her head with a hammer repeatedly until she dropped to the ground.
“Tonight, two decades after he committed these murders, Jamie Mills has paid the price for his heinous crimes,” stated Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. “I pray for the victims and their loved ones.”
