On November 28, 2021, Doyle Lee Hamm passed away from lymphoma on Alabama’s Death Row after years of struggling against cancer. Doyle will be remembered for his generous and forgiving spirit and his ability to always stay positive even in the face of adversity. He will be missed by his friends and family.
Rest in peace, Doyle Lee Hamm.
Sam Roberts of The New York Times publishes an obituary for Doyle Lee Hamm on November 29, 2021.
For more coverage of Doyle Lee Hamm’s passing:
Brian Lyman, “Doyle Hamm, Alabama death row inmate who survived botched execution attempt, dies at 64,” Montgomery Advertiser, November 29, 2021, https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/2021/11/29/doyle-lee-hamm-alabama-death-row-inmate-survived-botched-execution-attempt-dies-64/8792325002/
Ramsey Archibald, “Alabama death row inmate who survived botched execution dies of natural causes,” AL.com, November 28, 2021, https://www.al.com/news/2021/11/alabama-death-row-inmate-who-survived-botched-execution-dies-of-natural-causes.html.
Jay Reeves, “Alabama inmate who survived execution attempt dies of cancer,” Associated Press, November 29, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/alabama-executions-ed302b748829e5e1b6f7b926e78de423.
Erin Brady, “Inmate Whose Execution Was Halted Because of Vein Issue Dies 4 Years Later From Cancer,” Newsweek, November 29, 2021, https://www.newsweek.com/inmate-whose-execution-was-halted-because-vein-issue-dies-4-years-later-cancer-1654200.
Tina Burnside, “Death row inmate who survived a botched execution attempt dies of cancer,” CNN, November 29, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/29/us/alabama-death-row-inmate-doyle-hamm-death/index.html
Jonathan Edwards, “Inmate whose execution was postponed due to a vein issue dies of cancer four years later,” Washington Newsday, November 29, 2021, https://washingtonnewsday.com/news/inmate-whose-execution-was-postponed-due-to-a-vein-issue-dies-of-cancer-four-years-later/.
Emily Crane, “Alabama inmate who survived botched execution dies of cancer,” New York Post, November 29, 2021, https://nypost.com/2021/11/29/alabama-inmate-who-survived-botched-execution-dies-of-cancer/
Andrew Naughtie, “Murderer, 64, dies of cancer four years after surviving botched execution,” Independent, November 29, 2021, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/doyle-hamm-death-cancer-execution-alabama-b1966027.html.
“Death Row Debacle,” Dothan Eagle, December 1, 2021, https://dothaneagle.com/opinion/editorial/death-row-debacle/article_ee6866ae-52e4-11ec-be5f-c76c8731acd7.html.
Later this week, Doyle Lee Hamm will be laid to rest beside his mother and father, Eula Mae Howell and Major Edward Hamm, his six older brothers, James, Ted, O’Neal, Horace, Jimmy, and David, his two sisters, Ruthie and Linda, his grandparents, and extended family, at the cemetery in Barton, Alabama, in the beautiful northwestern part of the state, near Muscle Shoals and the Tennessee Valley. At his burial beside his grave, Doyle will be accompanied by his younger brother Danny, his grandniece Dwan, and the many men and women who loved and supported him during his more than three decades on Alabama’s death row, specially the men from the Kairos prison ministry who visited Doyle weekly on death row since the early 1990s, two of whom waited for him at the gallows on the night of February 22, 2018. It will be a peaceful and restful moment to remember Doyle’s spirit, mercy, and friendship, which touched so deeply so many people, especially his friends on death row, those still alive today and the many who were executed by the state of Alabama over the past decades.
For prior coverage of Doyle Hamm’s case:
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.
Farewell Doyle, you have been through countless ordeals, may you now rest in peace with your family.
