Naomi Campbell barred from being charity trustee in England and Wales

LONDON (AP) — British supermodel Naomi Campbell has been barred from being a charity trustee in England and Wales for five years after the poverty charity she founded nearly two decades ago was deemed Thursday to have been “poorly governed” with “inadequate financial management.”

Following a three-year investigation into the financial activities of “Fashion for Relief,” the Charity Commission, which registers and regulates charities in England and Wales, said it had found “multiple instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement,” and that only 8.5% of the charity’s overall expenditure went on charitable grants in a six-year period from 2016.

For example, it said that thousands of pounds worth of charity funds were used to pay for a luxury hotel stay in Cannes, France, for Campbell as well as spa treatments, room service and even cigarettes. The regulator sought explanations from the trustees but said no evidence was provided to back up their explanation that hotel costs were typically covered by a donor to the charity, therefore not costing the charity.

Campbell, 54, said she was “extremely concerned” by the findings of the regulator and that an investigation on her part was underway.

“I was not in control of my charity, I put the control in the hands of a legal employer,” she said in response to a question from the AP after being named a knight in France’s Order of Arts and Letters at the country's culture ministry for her contribution to French culture. "We are investigating to find out what and how, and everything I do and every penny I ever raised goes to charity.”

The commission, which registers and registers and regulates charities in England and Wales, also found that fellow trustee Bianka Hellmich received around 290,000 pounds ($385,000) of unauthorized funds for consultancy services, which was in breach of the charity's constitution. She has been disqualified as a trustee for nine years. The other trustee, Veronica Chou, was barred for four years.

“Trustees are legally required to make decisions that are in their charity’s best interests and to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities,” said Tim Hopkins, deputy director for specialist investigations and standards. “Our inquiry has found that the trustees of this charity failed to do so, which has resulted in our action to disqualify them.”

The charity, which was founded in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, was dissolved and removed from the register of charities earlier this year. On its website, which is still active, the charity said that it presented fashion initiatives and projects in New York, London, Cannes, Moscow, Mumbai and Dar es Salaam, raising more than $15 million for good causes around the world.

The charity had been set up with the aim of uniting the fashion industry to relieve poverty and advance health and education, by making grants to other organizations and giving resources towards global disasters.

The commission said that around 344,000 pounds ($460,000) has been recovered and that a further 98,000 pounds of charitable funds have been protected. These funds were used to make donations to two other charities and settle outstanding liabilities.  

“I am pleased that the inquiry has seen donations made to other charities which this charity has previously supported,” said the regulator's Hopkins.

Lesprit reported from Paris.

Naomi Campbell, right, greets French Culture Minister Rachida Dati after being awarded with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

French Culture Minister Rachida Dati delivers a speech after she awarded Naomi Campbell with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Naomi Campbell delivers a speech after being awarded with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", by French Culture Minister Rachida Dati, right, at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Naomi Campbell delivers a speech after being awarded with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Naomi Campbell poses with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", after being awarded by French Culture Minister Rachida Dati, at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Naomi Campbell delivers a speech after being awarded with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Naomi Campbell delivers a speech after being awarded with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

French Culture Minister Rachida Dati, right, awards Naomi Campbell with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Naomi Campbell delivers a speech after being awarded with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

FILE - British model Naomi Campbell arrives for the inaugural King's Foundation charity awards at St James's Palace in London, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool, File)

Naomi Campbell cries after being awarded with the medal of "Chevalier de l'Ordres des Arts et des Lettres", at the Culture ministry, in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — Alabama used nitrogen gas Thursday to execute a man convicted of killing three people in back-to-back workplace shootings, the second time the method that has generated debate about its humaneness has been used in the country

Alan Eugene Miller, 59, was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m. local time at a south Alabama prison. He shook and trembled on the gurney for about two minutes with his body at times pulling against the restraints. That was followed by about six minutes of periodic gulping breaths before he became still.

Miller was convicted of killing three men — Lee Holdbrooks, Christopher Scott Yancy and Terry Jarvis — in 1999 and the state had previously attempted to execute him by lethal injection in 2022.

“I didn't do anything to be in here,” Miller said in his final words that were at times muffled by the blue-rimmed gas mask that covered his face from forehead to chin. However, witnesses at the trial had expressed no doubt about his guilt, describing Miller shooting the three men.

At the execution, Miller also asked his family and friends to “take care” of someone but it was not clear whose name he said.

Miller was one of five inmates put to death in the span of one week, an unusually high number that defies a yearslong trend of decline in the use of the death penalty in the U.S.

“Tonight, justice was finally served for these three victims through the execution method elected by the inmate," Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement. “His acts were not that of insanity, but pure evil. Three families were forever changed by his heinous crimes, and I pray that they can find comfort all these years later.”

Family members of the three victims did not witness the execution and did not issue a statement to be read to reporters, state officials said.

The execution was the second to use the new method Alabama first employed in January, when Kenneth Smith was put to death. The method involves placing a respirator gas mask over the inmate’s face to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death by lack of oxygen.

Alabama officials and advocates have argued over whether Smith suffered an unconstitutional level of pain during his execution after he shook in seizure-like spasms for several minutes, at times rocking the gurney. Smith then gasped for breath for several minutes. The shaking exhibited by Miller was similar to what was seen at the first nitrogen gas execution but did not seem as long or as violent.

Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm said the shaking movements were anticipated.

“Just like in Smith we talked about there is going to be involuntarily body movements as the body is depleted of oxygen. So that was nothing we did not expect,” Hamm said, explaining the nitrogen gas flowed for 15 minutes. “Everything went according to plan and according to our protocol."

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the execution “went as expected and without incident.”

“Tonight, despite misinformation campaigns by political activists, out-of-state lawyers, and biased media, the State proved once again that nitrogen hypoxia is both humane and effective,” Marshall said in a statement.

Marshall did not personally witness the execution but a representative from his office did, prison officials said.

A delivery truck driver, Miller was convicted of capital murder for the Aug. 5, 1999, shootings that claimed three lives and shocked the city of Pelham, a suburban city just south of Birmingham.

Police say that early that morning, Miller entered Ferguson Enterprises and fatally shot two co-workers: Holdbrooks, 32, and Yancy, 28. He then drove 5 miles (8 kilometers) away to Post Airgas, where he had previously worked, and shot Jarvis, 39. Trial testimony indicated that Miller was paranoid and believed his co-workers had been gossiping about him.

“You’ve been spreading rumors about me,” a witness described Miller as saying before he opened fire. All three men were shot multiple times.

Miller had initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but later withdrew the plea. A psychiatrist hired by the defense said that Miller was mentally ill but his condition wasn’t severe enough to use as a basis for an insanity defense, according to court documents. Jurors convicted Miller after 20 minutes of deliberation and recommended by a vote of 10-2 that he receive the death penalty.

In 2022, the state called off the previous attempt to execute Miller after being unable to connect an IV line to the 351-pound (159-kilogram) inmate. Miller had initially challenged the nitrogen gas protocol but dropped his lawsuit after reaching an undisclosed settlement with the state.

Hamm said the state did not change the protocol. Miller, among other things, had requested to be given a sedative. Hamm declined to say if Miller was given a sedative and referred questions about the settlement to Miller’s attorneys.

Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action, and other death penalty opponents hold a demonstration outside the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery, Ala., Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, asking the state to call off the scheduled execution of Alan Miller in what would be the nation's second execution using nitrogen gas. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler)

FILE - Officials escort murder suspect Alan Eugene Miller away from the Pelham City Jail in Alabama, Aug. 5, 1999. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

FILE - This undated photograph provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections shows inmate Alan Eugene Miller, who was convicted of capital murder in a workplace shooting rampage that killed three men in 1999. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP, File)