Texas man Blaine Milam, 35, is set to face lethal injection for the 2008 murder of his girlfriend's 13-month-old daughter, Amora Carson. Milam was convicted after prosecutors detailed the harrowing ordeal in which the child was beaten with a hammer, strangled, bitten, and mutilated over a 30-hour period that was framed as an "exorcism," according to CW39. Milam's execution is scheduled for today at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, where he maintains his innocence, attributing the heinous actions to his then-girlfriend, Jesseca Carson, who is currently serving a life sentence without parole.
Amora’s autopsy revealed multiple skull fractures, broken arms, legs, ribs, and numerous bite marks, according to a forensic pathologist who was unable to determine a specific cause of death due to the extent of the injuries. Milam has sought to halt his execution by appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the conviction relied on bite mark evidence and raising questions about the reliability of DNA evidence. His lawyers also contend that he is intellectually disabled, which would make him ineligible for execution. Despite these efforts, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied his request to commute the death sentence to a lesser penalty. His previous execution dates in 2019 and 2021 were stayed while courts reviewed his claims, Fox News reported.
Additionally, Milam's defense claims that Carson experienced religious delusions and a neurological visual-perception disorder, which allegedly led her to misinterpret her daughter's appearance as demonic possession. His lawyers maintain that there is no credible evidence implicating Milam, asserting that Carson was responsible. However, the Texas Attorney General's Office counters that DNA evidence still connects Milam to the crime scene and cites his efforts to hide evidence and a confession made to a nurse after his arrest as signs of his involvement.
Rusk County District Attorney Micheal Jimerson, who was involved in the original case, commented on the difficulty of understanding the motive behind such violence, saying, "It's … very hard to confront the idea that someone would derive their gratification from the torture of a baby," in an interview obtained by CW39. This year, if both Texas and Alabama carry out their scheduled executions, it would bring the number of death sentences executed nationwide to 33, with Florida leading the count at 12 for the year and two more anticipated by mid-October.
