Execution Report: Blaine Milam

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A jury found Blaine guilty of capital murder on 17 May 2010 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in May 2012.

Jesseca Bain Carson was found guilty of capital murder in April 2011 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors did not seek a death sentence for her.

Rusk County District Attorney Michael Jimerson explained his decision not to seek the death penalty for Carson. Under Texas law, a jury must find that a convicted capital murderer is a future danger to society in order to impose a death sentence. Jimerson said that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled that a mother who kills her children is only a future danger to her own children, and since Carson was childless after Amora's death, she was, by legal standards, not a future danger to society at the time of her trial.

Milam was originally scheduled for execution in 2019. The TCCA stayed the execution on two grounds: first, to examine the scientific reliability of the bite mark evidence presented at his trial, and second, so that Milam's intellectual disability claim could be considered. After a hearing, the trial court decided that Milam's execution should proceed. The TCCA affirmed, and his execution was rescheduled. The TCCA then issued another stay of execution in 2021, once again on intellectual disability grounds. The trial court again found that Milam was not intellectually disabled.

In his last statement, Milam thanked his supporters. He also thanked the chaplains at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for offering a faith-based program that led to him finding salvation in Jesus Christ. "I implore all of you, no matter who you are, to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and we will meet again," Milam said. "I love you all. Bring me home, Jesus," he said. The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:40 p.m.

News headlines and articles about Milam's case consistently stated that baby Amora was killed during an exorcism. District Attorney Jimerson held a press conference following Milam's execution to refute this theory, which he called "outlandish." Jimerson pointed to Milam's previous status as a sex offender and said that he derived "gratification" from torturing Amora. "Most likely, the sensational, headline-grabbing exorcism story was a last-ditch attempt to avoid criminal responsibility by the co-defendant, Carson," Jimerson said.

By David Carson. Posted on 26 September 2025.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Henderson Daily News, Houston Chronicle, court documents, KETK-TV.