An Alabama man convicted of capital murder in the deaths of an elderly couple in 2004 gave a thumbs up to family members before uttering his final words on Thursday.
A jury found Jamie Mills guilty of capital murder in 2007 and voted 11-1 in favor of the judge's death sentence.
As the execution began, Jamie Ray Mills, 50, mouthed, "I love you," to family members who were watching from a witness room.
"I love my family. I love my brother and sister. I couldn't ask for more," Mills said.
He also thanked his attorney, Charlotte Morrison, of the Equal Justice Initiative.
Mills was pronounced dead at 6:26 p.m. after a three-drug injection.
As the first execution drug-a sedative-flowed, Mills appeared to quickly lose consciousness as a spiritual adviser prayed at the foot of the gurney, reported NBC News.
Mills was the second inmate executed by the state in 2024, the first being executed using the controversial nitrogen gas method.
Lethal injection remains Alabama's default execution method unless a condemned inmate requests nitrogen gas or the electric chair.
Mills was convicted of capital murder in the deaths of Floyd Hill, 87, and his wife Vera, 72.
Prosecutors said the couple were attacked on June 24, 2004, with a hammer, machete, and tire tool at their home, about 80 miles northwest of Birmingham.
"Tonight, two decades after he committed these murders, Jamie Mills has paid the price for his heinous crimes. I pray for the victims and their loved ones," expressed Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey in a statement.
Members of the victims' family witnessed the execution and issued a statement declaring "justice has been served" after twenty years.
"Our family now can have some closure to this heinous crime that he committed, and our loving grandparents can rest in peace," it read.
