Alabama has carried out its third execution using nitrogen gas, a controversial new method. Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was put to death at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southern Alabama, after being convicted of the brutal 1994 killing of 37-year-old Vickie Deblieux. Grayson, who was 19 at the time of the murder, was one of four teens who attacked, beat, and threw Deblieux off a cliff while she was hitchhiking across the state.
Before his execution, Grayson cursed at the warden and made obscene gestures while strapped to a gurney with a gas mask over his face. Despite his defiant behavior, the execution proceeded after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his request for a stay.
Alabama’s use of nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method involves replacing breathable air with nitrogen, which causes death through suffocation. While the state asserts that the method is constitutional, critics, including advocates for the abolition of the death penalty, argue that it may cause prolonged suffering. Previous nitrogen executions in the state have seen inmates shake and struggle for minutes before death, prompting concerns about its effectiveness and ethical considerations.
The execution came after a long legal battle. Grayson’s lawyers raised concerns that the nitrogen gas method could cause “conscious suffocation.” Despite these objections, Alabama officials proceeded with the execution, claiming the process was constitutional.
Governor Kay Ivey expressed her condolences for the victim’s family, stating that she was praying for their healing, but also emphasized the heinous nature of Grayson’s crime, calling his actions “unimaginable” and “mean.”
Grayson was the only one of the four teens sentenced to death, as the others were under 18 at the time of the crime. His execution marks another chapter in Alabama’s continued use of nitrogen gas for capital punishment, which remains a controversial and contested method.