Bio 

David Earl Miller was born on July 16, 1957, in the United States. By 1979, Miller was traveling through Knoxville, Tennessee. While hitchhiking, he met Benjamin Calvin Thomas, an ordained minister and school principal. Miller did yard work at Thomas’s home, was paid, and then continued traveling. A few weeks later, he returned to Knoxville. By 1981, he had been living in Thomas’s home for more than a year.

Court records described Miller’s relationship with Thomas as close but complicated. Thomas testified that their early relationship had included sexual contact, but later became more like a father-and-son relationship.

Before the murder, Miller knew Lee Standifer. Lee was 23 years old and lived at the Y.W.C.A. in downtown Knoxville. She worked for a company that employed people with disabilities. She also stayed in close contact with her parents, calling them often and visiting them on many weekends.

On May 20, 1981, Lee last spoke with her mother at about 5:30 p.m. That evening, Miller was at the Hideaway Lounge in downtown Knoxville while Lee was nearby at the Y.W.C.A. The two spoke by phone, and witnesses later saw them leave together.

Miller and Lee were later seen at the Knoxville Public Library and at the Trailways Bus Station cafeteria. After that, they took a taxi toward South Knoxville, near the home where Miller was staying.

At trial, Miller’s defense argued that he had been intoxicated and was legally insane at the time of the killing. The jury rejected those defenses. A psychiatrist testified that Miller knew right from wrong at the time of the murder, and the Tennessee Supreme Court later found that the evidence supported the jury’s decision.

Murder Story

On May 20, 1981, Lee Standifer spent part of the evening with David Earl Miller in Knoxville, Tennessee. Witnesses saw them together at the Y.W.C.A., the Knoxville Public Library, and the Trailways Bus Station cafeteria. Later that night, they took a taxi to South Knoxville, near the home where Miller had been living.

Miller later told police that he and Lee went into the living room near the fireplace. He claimed Lee became upset because he planned to leave Knoxville and return to Houston. He said she grabbed his arm, and he turned and hit her. Miller admitted that he struck Lee, tied her, dragged her through the house, and moved her body outside.

The physical evidence showed that Lee was attacked much more severely than Miller described. She had serious head injuries that may have been caused by a fireplace poker. She also had several stab wounds to her neck, chest, stomach, back, and mouth. One stab wound went through her heart and aorta.

Lee’s body showed signs that she had been dragged over rough ground. A rope was found around her neck and wrists. Her body was discovered about 100 feet from the house in an overgrown area of the yard.

After the killing, Miller tried to clean the house. Benjamin Calvin Thomas came home that night and noticed the basement floor was wet. He also saw blood inside the home. Miller told him he had been in a fight and had a bloody nose. Thomas told Miller he had to leave. The next morning, Thomas drove Miller toward an interstate exit and gave him money. Miller then left Tennessee.

Miller was arrested on May 29, 1981, in Columbus, Ohio. He waived extradition and was returned to Knoxville. During questioning, he admitted being with Lee that night and admitted striking her and dragging her body outside. He did not fully admit to the stabbing injuries.

Miller was tried for first-degree murder in Knox County. His defense argued that he was intoxicated and legally insane at the time of the killing. The jury rejected those arguments. He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death on March 17, 1982.

On appeal, the Tennessee Supreme Court upheld his conviction but overturned his first death sentence. The court ruled that the sentencing hearing had included improper information about two prior rape arrests that had been dismissed. Because arrests are not the same as convictions, the court ordered a new sentencing hearing.

At a later resentencing, Miller was sentenced to death again. His appeals continued for many years. Courts reviewed his conviction, death sentence, mental-health claims, and challenges to Tennessee’s execution methods. By 2018, he was Tennessee’s longest-serving death-row prisoner.

In 2018, Tennessee scheduled his execution. Miller chose the electric chair instead of lethal injection, while also challenging the execution methods in court. The courts refused to stop the execution.

On December 6, 2018, David Earl Miller was executed by electric chair at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee. He was pronounced dead at 7:25 p.m. He was 61 years old.