Bio

Evan James Miller was born on November 2, 1988, in Alabama. He was 14 years old when the crime happened. He spent time in foster care, and his family life involved substance abuse, neglect, and abuse. The U.S. Supreme Court later noted that Miller’s mother struggled with alcohol and drug addiction. Court records also stated that his stepfather abused him. Miller also had mental-health problems and had attempted suicide several times before the murder.

Before the crime, Miller had juvenile problems, including truancy and criminal mischief. These details were later considered when the court decided whether he should be tried as a juvenile or as an adult. At the time of the killing, Miller was with 16-year-old Colby Smith. Smith was staying at Miller’s trailer on the night of July 15, 2003. Their neighbor, 52-year-old Cole Cannon, came over after burning his food and asked for something to eat.

While Miller’s mother prepared food for Cannon, Miller and Smith went to Cannon’s trailer. They searched for drugs but did not find any. They then stole some of Cannon’s baseball trading cards.

Murder Story

On the night of July 15, 2003, Evan Miller and Colby Smith went back to the trailer of their neighbor, Cole Cannon, in Lawrence County, Alabama. According to court records, they planned to get Cannon drunk and steal his money.

The three smoked marijuana and played drinking games. Cannon eventually passed out on the couch. While he was unconscious, Miller took Cannon’s wallet and split more than $300 with Smith.

When Miller tried to put the wallet back, Cannon woke up and grabbed him by the throat. Smith picked up a baseball bat and hit Cannon on the head. Miller then got on top of Cannon and punched him in the face. Cannon begged them to stop, but Miller picked up the bat and hit him several more times.

After the beating, Miller placed a sheet over Cannon’s head and said, “I am God, I’ve come to take your life.” Miller then hit Cannon again with the bat.

Miller and Smith left the trailer but returned a short time later. They tried to clean up the blood and then set several fires inside the trailer to hide what had happened.

Firefighters later came to put out the fire. While inside the trailer, they found blood on a coffee table and blood on the wall. Cannon’s body was found in a hallway near a back bedroom. Investigators later determined that the fire was suspicious and had several starting points.

At first, Cannon’s death was listed as accidental from smoke inhalation. Later, a full autopsy was performed. The autopsy found that Cannon had injuries from the beating, including a head injury and several broken ribs. His official cause of death was inhalation of products of combustion, with blunt-force injuries and alcohol intoxication as contributing factors.

Miller was questioned after Cannon’s death. At first, he denied going to Cannon’s trailer. Later, he admitted he had been there with Smith and Cannon. He also admitted taking money from Cannon’s wallet, but his version of events did not fully match Smith’s testimony or the forensic evidence.

Miller was charged as an adult with capital murder connected to arson and robbery. Smith pleaded guilty to felony murder and received life in prison with the possibility of parole. Miller went to trial.

On October 20, 2006, Miller was convicted of capital murder during arson. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. At the time, Alabama law required that sentence for his conviction.

Miller appealed. On August 27, 2010, the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his conviction and sentence. His case later reached the U.S. Supreme Court because he had been only 14 years old when the crime happened.

On June 25, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Miller v. Alabama that mandatory life without parole for juveniles is unconstitutional. The ruling did not automatically free Miller, but it required courts to consider a juvenile offender’s age and background before giving that sentence.

After the ruling, Miller’s case returned to Alabama for resentencing. In March 2017, he appeared at a resentencing hearing and apologized to Cannon’s family. Cannon’s family opposed a reduced sentence.

On April 27, 2021, Miller was resentenced to life in prison without parole. He continued to challenge the sentence, but on October 24, 2025, the Alabama Supreme Court left the sentence in place.