ALABAMA SET TO EXECUTE PRISONER WITH NEW Nitrogen GAS METHOD

Tuscaloosa, AL - In a move that has sparked controversy and raised concerns about the constitutionality of it, Alabama is set to execute Carey Dale Grayson, 50, by nitrogen gas on Thursday evening at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility.

Grayson was one of four teenagers convicted of murdering 37-year-old Vickie Deblieux in 1994 while she was hitchhiking through Alabama. He will become the third person to be executed in the US using this new method, which involves placing a respirator gas mask over the person's face to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas.

The method has been in use only once before, when Kenneth Smith, 58, died of a heart attack after being executed by nitrogen hypoxia earlier this year. The second execution is just months later, with Alan Eugene Miller, 39 dying from asphyxiation last month. Critics argue that the initial executions did not result in swift unconsciousness and death as promised.

However, supporters claim that Alabama's "nitrogen hypoxia protocol has been successfully used twice, and both times it resulted in a death within a matter of minutes." They also point out that a lower court had already found Grayson's claims about the method speculative.

Grayson's attorneys had asked the US Supreme Court to stay the execution citing concerns over the constitutionality of the new method. However, their petition was denied. The state lawyers argued that the first two executions were valid, despite international outcry and medical concerns raised by experts.

The use of nitrogen gas in executions is a departure from traditional methods like lethal injection or electric chair. According to Alabama officials, it is constitutional, but critics argue that more scrutiny is needed, particularly if other states follow the state's path and adopt this new method.

Deblieux's case drew widespread attention when her mutilated body was found at the bottom of a bluff near Odenville in February 1994. Four teens were initially convicted, two received life sentences, one received a death sentence for being older than 18, while Grayson faced execution.