Survivor of botched execution in 2018, Doyle Lee Hamm succumbed to his lymphatic cancer and was buried at the Barton Cemetery in Cherokee, Alabama, on December 3, 2021.

On a gorgeous Alabama fall afternoon, Friday, December 3, 2021, Doyle Lee Hamm was finally laid to rest. Doyle Hamm’s casket was lowered into the grave with his family and close friends by his side. He was laid alongside his mother, Eula Mae Howell, and father, Major Edward Hamm, his brothers and sisters, and his larger family in the Barton cemetery in Cherokee, Alabama.

As Jay Reeves of the Associated Press (AP) reported, Doyle Hamm “was laid to rest in a grave dug by family and friends.”

In a tragic way, nature liberated him from the clutches of the state. Doyle Lee Hamm is now free at last from the custody of Alabama after what can only be described as a modern ordeal unimaginable in earlier times: over thirty years in isolation on death row, a barbaric botched execution that made a bloody mess of his groin, all this while he was battling cancer and multiple bouts of chemo for more than seven years. May he now rest in peace.

At the service, Doyle Hamm’s friends and family commemorated his life with tributes and music. Friends and family, including John David Russell, Tom Perry of the Kairos Prison Ministry, and his brother Danny Hamm, paid tribute to Doyle Hamm.

Dr. Connie Uzel, of the Southern Cancer Center in Mobile, Alabama, who provided outstanding care for Mr. Hamm during his struggles against cancer, also sent a statement that was read at the service.

“It truly was a privilege to have been his doctor,” Dr. Uzel wrote.  “He was always kind and polite.  He never complained and withstood bad news with strength and dignity.  He withstood intense and difficult cancer diagnostics and treatment with determination to survive.”

Doyle Hamm’s generosity and giving spirit will be dearly missed by his friends, family, and supporters. He is survived by his brother Danny, daughter Miranda, nephew David, grandniece Dwan, and other family members.

AP Coverage Here: https://apnews.com/article/alabama-executions-40aa93d712a454db9694afee1d10a4b9 

Press Release here:

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Read also:

Sam Roberts, “Doyle Lee Hamm, Who Survived a Bungled Execution, Dies in Prison at 64,” New York Times, November 29, 2021.

Brian Lyman, “Doyle Hamm, Alabama death row inmate who survived botched execution attempt, dies at 64,” Montgomery Advertiser, November 29, 2021.

Roger Cohen, “Death Penalty Madness in Alabama,” New York Times, February 27, 2018. Mr. Cohen published his reflections on his reporting on Mr. Hamm’s case in “Some Reflections on Journalism.”

Liliana Segura, “Another Failed Execution: The Torture of Doyle Lee Hamm,” Intercept, March 3, 2018.

Bernard E. Harcourt, “The Barbarism of Alabama’s Botched Execution,” New York Review of Books, March 13, 2018.

Bernard E. Harcourt, “The Ghoulish Pursuit of Executing a Terminally Ill Inmate,” New York Times, December 20, 2017.

Jennifer Gonnerman, “The Decades-Long Defense of an Alabama Death-Row Prisoner Enters a Final Phase,” New Yorker, December 19, 2017.

Jennifer Gonnerman, “The Long Defense of the Alabama Death-Row Prisoner Doyle Lee Hamm,” New Yorker, September 13, 2016.

Dr. Mark Heath, Expert Report of Dr. Mark Heath Re. Examination of Doyle Lee Hamm, February 25, 2018.

Jay Reeves, “Alabama inmate who survived execution bid buried with family,” Associated Press, December 4, 2021.