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Alabama schedules second execution by nitrogen gas

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Alabama schedules second execution by nitrogen gas


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama has scheduled a second execution with nitrogen gas, months after the state became the first to put a person to death with the previously untested method.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey set a Sept. 26 execution date for Alan Eugene Miller, who was convicted of killing three men during a 1999 workplace shooting. The execution will be carried out by nitrogen gas, the governor’s office said. Miller survived a 2022 lethal injection attempt.

The governor’s action comes a week after the Alabama Supreme Court authorized the execution.

In January, Alabama used nitrogen gas to execute Kenneth Smith. Smith shook and convulsed in seizure-like movements for several minutes on a gurney as he was put to death Jan. 25.

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A nitrogen hypoxia execution causes death by forcing the inmate to breathe pure nitrogen, depriving him or her of the oxygen needed to maintain bodily functions. Alabama and some other states have looked for new ways to execute inmates because the drugs used in lethal injections, the most common execution method in the United States, are increasingly difficult to find.

Miller has an ongoing federal lawsuit challenging the execution method as a violation of the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, citing witness descriptions of Smith’s death.

“Rather than address these failures, the State of Alabama has attempted to maintain secrecy and avoid public scrutiny, in part by misrepresenting what happened in this botched execution,” the lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. It is anticipated that his attorneys will ask a federal judge to block the execution from going forward.

Attorney General Steve Marshall maintained that Smith’s execution was “textbook” and said the state will seek to carry out more death sentences using nitrogen gas.

State attorneys added that Miller has been on death row since 2000 and that it is time to carry out his sentence.

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Miller, a delivery truck driver, was convicted of killing Terry Jarvis, Lee Holdbrooks and Scott Yancy in the workplace shootings.



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ESPN’s Jay Bilas makes prediction for Alabama in NCAA Tournament

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ESPN’s Jay Bilas makes prediction for Alabama in NCAA Tournament



The Tide will enter the NCAA Tournament following an overall record of 23-9 this season.

The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Hofstra Pride in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon.

Alabama will enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region following an overall record of 23-9 throughout the 2025-26 regular season campaign. There are some across college basketball who believe that Alabama could be a sleeping giant in the tournament, despite being listed as a four seed, one of which is ESPN analyst Jay Bilas.

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Bilas also recently revealed his predictions for the Midwest Region, as the analyst picks Alabama to defeat both Hofstra and Texas Tech while advancing to the Sweet 16.

The Tide have been widely regarded as a top team in the nation for the majority of the regular season. Bilas’ prediction has Alabama’s season ending in the Sweet 16 vs. Michigan, but the Tide have proven to have the ability to defeat anyone should they continue shooting at an elite level.

Alabama will face Hofstra on Friday afternoon at 2:15 p.m. CT, as the Tide will look to make a run throughout the NCAA Tournament.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.





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University of Alabama student James Gracey reported missing after night out in Spain during spring break trip

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University of Alabama student James Gracey reported missing after night out in Spain during spring break trip


A University of Alabama student has been reported missing following a night out with friends during a spring break trip to Spain, his family said.

James Paul Gracey, 20, was hanging out at Barcelona’s world-famous club, Shoko, on Tuesday, while visiting friends who are studying abroad in the Spanish city, before he vanished, his mother wrote on Facebook.

Therese Gracey said her son, who goes by Jimmy, was last seen by a friend inside the club at around 3 a.m. The friend had left the hotspot for the night, but Gracey had decided to stay.

University of Alabama student James Gracey was reported missing in Barcelona, Spain, on March 17, 2026. Therese Gracey
Gracey was last seen wearing a white shirt, dark pants and a gold chain with a rhinestone cross. Therese Gracey

Gracey failed to return to the residence he was staying, his mother said.

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“The police have his phone but he didn’t make it back to the air bnb. Has anyone see him?” Therese Gracey pleaded to the “Students in Barcelona 2026” Facebook group.

Gracey, from Elmhurst, Illinois, is an honors accounting junior at the University of Alabama, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The school confirmed Gracey is a student at the Tuscaloosa school, but was on a personal trip at the time of his disappearance, according to ABC 33/40.

He was last seen wearing a white shirt, dark pants and a gold chain with a rhinestone cross.

Gracey was hanging out at Barcelona’s world-famous club, Shoko, on Tuesday, while visiting friends who are studying abroad in the Spanish city. Europa Press via Getty Images

Gracey announced in October that he was elected to serve as the chaplain of the Alpha Phi Chapter of the Theta Chi Fraternity.

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Fellow college students had reported seeing Gracey and were urging his family to reach out to local politicians and embassy officials to increase the manpower in the search for him.

Shoko was named the seventh best club in the world and best nightclub in Barcelona for 2025, according to Nightlife International.

The club offers award-winning cuisine being served on the Barcelona seafront, with the establishment “redefining nightlife with exclusive experiences” in the city.

Louisville, Kentucky, EDM artist Daniel Allan was headlining live music at the club Monday night.

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In Black pastor’s arrest, Alabama Supreme Court rules police can demand to see identification

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In Black pastor’s arrest, Alabama Supreme Court rules police can demand to see identification


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Ruling in the case of a Black pastor who was arrested while watering his neighbor’s flowers, the Alabama Supreme Court said police can demand to see identification during a stop if they are dissatisfied with a person’s verbal answers.

Justices issued the 6-3 decision last week after a federal judge presiding over a lawsuit about Michael Jennings’ 2022 arrest asked the court to clarify whether officers can demand to see a person’s identification under the state’s “stop-and-identify” law. The minister was arrested when he declined to show Childersburg police identification.

Justice Will Sellers wrote that state law, “does not exclude from its purview a request for physical identification when a suspect provides an incomplete or unsatisfactory response to an officer’s demand to provide his or her name and address and an explanation of his or her action.”

In May 2022, officers questioned Jennings in his neighbor’s yard. Another neighbor had called 911 because she saw an unfamiliar car and a “young Black male” around the house. Officers who responded found Jennings watering flowers and asked what he was doing.

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Jennings identified himself as “Pastor Jennings” and told officers that he lived across the street and was caring for his neighbor’s yard while they were vacationing. Officers asked to see his identification and Jennings refused, saying he hadn’t done anything wrong. The woman who called 911 also later identified Jennings as another neighbor.

Jennings was charged obstructing a government operation. The charge was later dismissed.

Jennings sued the city and the officers for false arrest. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, but the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision. U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor then asked the state Supreme Court to determine whether the state law prohibits an officer from demanding identification if the person gives an incomplete or unsatisfactory response to questions.

Matthew Cavedon, director of the Cato Institute’s Project on Criminal Justice, said the decision is a “significant expansion of government power over people.”

The Cato Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union had written an amicus brief in the case arguing the statute does not authorize any demands for physical identification. Cavedon said the case centers on what happens if a person gives an answer that the officer doesn’t find satisfactory.

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“The significance now for Alabamians is if an officer’s not satisfied with whatever answer you give, I sure hope you’ve got your driver’s license or passport on you,” he said.



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