Ah, Texas. Home of barbecue, big hats, and reminders that, yes, the death penalty is still alive and well—especially when the crime is so stomach-turning it makes Satan himself look like a misunderstood prankster. Enter Blaine Milam, the charming fellow scheduled to meet his maker this Thursday for the 2008 murder of 13-month-old Amora Carson, a child whose only mistake was being born into the orbit of two people who thought a hammer and an exorcism were parenting tools.
Let’s get this straight: Milam and his then-girlfriend, Jesseca Carson, claimed the kid was possessed by a demon. Apparently, the solution wasn’t holy water or calling a priest, but a 30-hour torture session in a trailer in Rusk County where hammers, strangulation, and human bite marks were the main features. The devil didn’t stand a chance, but neither did Amora.
According to prosecutors, Amora suffered enough injuries to make even hardened detectives lose sleep—skull fractures, broken bones, and more bite marks than a piranha victim. But sure, let’s hear Milam out. He says he’s innocent. Just following orders, he claims. His girlfriend was the one who thought the baby was possessed. He was merely the sidekick in this demonic sitcom from hell.
For the record, Carson was convicted too. She’s riding out a life sentence without parole. No word on whether she still believes in demons or just blames her ex for ruining her chances at a career in amateur exorcisms.
Milam’s legal team, bless their hearts, have been working overtime for years. They’ve tried everything: say the bite-mark evidence was junk science (fair point), claim Milam might be intellectually disabled (also fair to raise), and plead for clemency from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The board, clearly unimpressed with the exorcism defense, gave a hard pass on that one.
This execution has been scheduled more times than a reboot of a canceled sitcom. First it was set for 2019, then 2021, but the courts kept hitting pause to sort through the appeals. Finally, Texas is done waiting. The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that it’s time to move forward. And, let’s be honest, if Texas hesitates on the death penalty, you know something’s weird.
It’s worth noting that the trial was moved over 140 miles from Rusk County to Montgomery County because, shocker, the locals were a little worked up about a toddler being murdered in a so-called exorcism. That kind of thing tends to stir emotions. And in a state where lethal injection is more common than a Buc-ee’s billboard, even Texans were like, “Yeah, maybe let’s move this circus down the road.”
Now, before anyone starts lighting candles for Milam, let’s remember what this case actually is: a grotesque horror show dressed up in spiritual nonsense to hide sheer barbarity. There’s nothing mystical about it. It’s not a theological debate. It’s a murder, plain and simple, committed by people who didn’t need a devil to do evil—they had each other.
If Milam’s goal was to avoid the needle by blaming his girlfriend, he might want to check the fine print on “joint responsibility.” Turns out, courts don’t really care who said what in the trailer when there’s a dead baby involved and two adults who both had plenty of chances to stop. Spoiler alert: neither did.
In the end, this case isn’t about the death penalty debate, or forensic science, or even mental capacity. It’s about a child who never had a chance, and a justice system that—after 17 years of motions, hearings, and hand-wringing—finally decided it was time to close the book.
So Milam’s date with the execution chamber is set. Texas gets another tally on its death row scoreboard, and the rest of us are left wondering how many more of these cases we’ll see before someone admits that evil doesn’t need horns or a pitchfork. Sometimes it just shows up in a trailer park with a hammer and a Bible.