A Texas man is scheduled to be executed on Thursday for the brutal 2008 killing of his girlfriend’s 13-month-old daughter, a crime the couple claimed was part of an “exorcism.” Blaine Milam, 35, was sentenced to death for the murder of Amora Carson, who was tortured and killed inside his trailer home in Rusk County, East Texas.
He is set to receive a lethal injection Thursday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. On the same night, Alabama officials plan to execute Geoffrey West for fatally shooting a gas station employee during a 1997 robbery, according to CBS News.
Despite his looming execution, Milam continues to deny responsibility, accusing his former girlfriend, Jesseca Carson, of being the one who believed Amora was possessed. Jesseca was tried separately and received a life sentence without parole after being convicted of capital murder for aiding Milam. Both were only 18 years old at the time of the crime.
Prosecutors described the child’s death in horrifying detail. They said Milam beat Amora with a hammer, bit her, strangled her, and mutilated her during 30 hours of abuse. A forensic pathologist testified that the toddler suffered multiple skull fractures, broken arms, legs, and ribs, along with numerous bite marks. The extent of her injuries was so severe that no single cause of death could be determined.
Milam’s attorneys have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution, arguing that his conviction relied in part on “now-discredited” bite mark evidence and questionable DNA results. They also insist he is intellectually disabled, which would make him ineligible for execution under U.S. law.
His lawyers claim Jesseca suffered from religious delusions and a neurological disorder that distorted her perception of her daughter’s face, leading her to attack the child. “It was Carson who caused her daughter’s death. There is no credible evidence that Milam played any role in it,” they wrote.
State and federal courts have rejected previous appeals, and on Tuesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Milam’s request to commute his sentence. He had previously faced execution dates in 2019 and 2021, both of which were postponed.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office has countered that Milam’s intellectual disability claims were dismissed years ago and that DNA evidence “continues to forensically tie him to Amora’s body.” Prosecutors also cited other evidence, including Milam’s attempts to hide the crime and a confession he made to a nurse.
If carried out, Milam’s execution would be the fifth in Texas this year. Nationwide, his death and West’s execution in Alabama would bring the 2025 total to 33. Florida leads the country with 12 executions so far this year and two more scheduled by mid-October.