In a somber day for capital punishment in the United States, two inmates were executed on Thursday, September 25, 2025, in separate death chambers. Blaine Milam was put to death by lethal injection in Texas for the brutal 2008 killing of his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter. Hours later, in Alabama, Geoffrey West was executed by nitrogen gas for a 1997 robbery and murder. These two executions bring the total number of death sentences carried out in the U.S. this year to 33, marking the highest annual total since 2015.
Brutal ‘Exorcism’ Killing Leads to Texas Execution
In Texas, 35-year-old Blaine Milam was pronounced dead at 6:40 PM CDT on September 25, 2025, following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. Milam was convicted of the December 2008 death of Amora Carson, his girlfriend’s infant daughter, in Rusk County. Prosecutors detailed a horrific 30-hour ordeal where the child was allegedly subjected to an “exorcism” aimed at expelling a demon. The toddler suffered extreme brutality, including severe beatings, strangulation, mutilation, and numerous human bite marks on her body.
Milam’s legal team had waged a lengthy battle, arguing that he was intellectually disabled and thus constitutionally ineligible for execution, a claim rooted in U.S. Supreme Court precedent barring the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities. They also challenged the reliability of the bite-mark evidence used in his trial, which had previously led to stays of execution in 2019 and 2021. However, all appeals, including a last-minute petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, were denied. Milam’s execution was the fifth in Texas this year.
Nitrogen Gas Execution in Alabama for 1997 Robbery Murder
In Alabama, 50-year-old Geoffrey Todd West was executed by nitrogen gas on the same evening for the 1997 murder of convenience store clerk Margaret Parrish Berry. West, who had previously worked at the Harold’s Chevron in Attalla, drove to the store with the intent to rob it. Prosecutors stated that Berry, 33, was shot in the back of the head while lying on the floor behind the counter, with approximately $250 stolen from a cookie can. A jury convicted West of capital murder and recommended a death sentence by a 10-2 vote, which a judge adopted.
West’s execution marked another use of nitrogen gas, a method Alabama first employed in 2024. The controversial technique involves forcing an inmate to inhale pure nitrogen gas through a mask, depriving them of oxygen. While proponents suggest it is a painless death, critics, including United Nations experts, have raised concerns that it constitutes torture. Witnesses described West appearing to struggle for breath and making involuntary movements during the procedure. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 PM CDT. Notably, the victim’s son, Will Berry, had publicly urged Governor Kay Ivey to commute West’s sentence, stating that he had forgiven his mother’s killer and did not seek further vengeance. Governor Ivey acknowledged the plea but maintained her duty to uphold state law.
National Trends in Executions
The dual executions underscore a national trend of increased capital punishment activity in 2025. As of September 25, 33 individuals have been executed across the United States, surpassing the 25 executions carried out in all of 2024 and approaching the 2015 total of 28. Florida has led the states with a record number of executions this year, carrying out at least 10, while South Carolina executed two inmates by firing squad. Texas has conducted five executions, including Milam’s.
The death penalty remains legal in 27 states, though 21 of those states actively carry out executions, with six others under moratoriums. Conversely, 23 states have abolished capital punishment altogether.
A Continued Debate
The events of September 25, 2025, highlight the persistent and evolving landscape of capital punishment in the United States. The use of novel execution methods like nitrogen gas, coupled with ongoing legal challenges regarding intellectual disability and the ultimate finality of these state-sanctioned killings, continue to fuel a deep societal debate. These executions, especially when occurring on the same day, draw renewed attention to the practices and policies surrounding the death penalty nationwide, making it a trending topic in crime and justice news.
