Jamie Mills Executed on May 30, 2024, in Alabama

Jamie Mills, Alabama

Updated: Thursday, May 30, 2024

On Thursday, May 30, 2024, Jamie Mills was executed by the state of Alabama.  He was pronounced dead at 6:26 pm local time, inside the execution chamber at the Holeman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.  Jamie was executed via lethal injection.  He was 50 years of age.  Jamie was convicted of murdering 87-year-old Floyd Hill and his 72-year-old wife Vera Hill on June 24, 2004, in Guin, Alabama.  For the last 16 years, Jamie resided on death row in Alabama. 

According to Jamie’s sister, they grew up in a “good home” in Haleyville, Alabama. Jamie dropped out of school in the 11th grade. He then worked as a truck driver and mechanic and various places. Before his arrest, Jamie had last worked at a local Amoco service station, where his boss spoke well of him. In the early 1990s, Jamie went through a divorce. He had two children with his ex-wife and often failed to pay child support.

On the afternoon of June 24, 2004, Jamie Mills and his common-law wife, JoAnn Mills decided to rob the home of an elderly couple, Floyd and Vera Hill. Vera was in poor health and her husband was her caretaker. They were often visited by their adult grandchildren who lived in the area. Floyd also often visited the local Amoco service station and was known to carry large sums of cash to pay for anything he needed. Jamie, however, denies knowing of Floyd and his proclivity for carrying cash.

Angela Jones, a granddaughter of Floyd and Vera had spoken with them by telephone around 2:00 pm. However, when she arrived at the house that evening, she was unable to get them to come to the door. Angela called the police and requested a welfare check.

A police officer quickly arrived and found both Floyd and Vera lying in pools of blood in a storage building on the property. Floyd was declared dead at the scene, however, Vera was still alive and was rushed to a hospital. She later died on September 12, 2004, from injuries sustained during her attack, including blunt head trauma, a skull fracture, fractures around her eyes and nose, broken/fractured neck, and crushed hands.

An investigation revealed that a neighbor had seen a white-four-door sedan driving by several times, eventually parking in the Hills’ driveway. Jamie Mills was linked to the vehicle. When police went to his residence for questioning, it appeared no one was home. The following morning, police found Jamie and JoAnn attempting to sneak out of their house in a white vehicle matching the description given by the neighbor. The Mills claimed they had no knowledge of what happened to the Hills and that they were out of town that night visiting Jamie’s father and looking at houses.

During the questioning, JoAnn permitted police to search their home and vehicle. Several items linking them to crime were discovered, along with forensic evidence linking them to the crime. JoAnn eventually testified in court that on June 23, 2004, she and Jamie had stayed up all night smoking methamphetamine. The following evening, Jamie said he was going to talk to a man about some money and that JoAnn should just follow his lead.

Jamie drove to the Hills’ home. He attempted to make several calls on their phone while JoAnn chatted with Floyd and Vera. After the phone calls, they all went out to the storage shed to look at some of the items. After looking, Vera and JoAnn headed back to the house. Jamie then attacked Floyd. When JoAnn and Vera returned to investigate, Jamie attacked Vera. JoAnn claims she did not participate in the attack. After the attack, they locked the doors, went back to the house to steal several items, and left.

That night, they drove to Jamie’s father’s home to spend the night. They returned the following day and were attempting to dispose of the items linking them to crime when police stopped them.

JoAnn testified against Jamie at his trial. He was convicted and sentenced to death by a jury. JoAnn was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

Pray for peace for the family of Floyd and Vera Hill. Pray for strength for the family of Jamie Mills.