ALABAMA TO EXECUTE MURDERER WITH NEW NITROGEN GAS METHOD

In a move that has sparked controversy and raised questions about its constitutionality, the state of Alabama is set to become the third U.S. jurisdiction to use nitrogen gas as an execution method, with 50-year-old Carey Dale Grayson slated for execution tonight.

Grayson, one of four teenagers convicted of murdering a hitchhiking woman named Vickie Deblieux in 1994, will be the first person to die by this new method, which involves replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas through a respirator mask. The move has been touted as a more humane alternative to lethal injection.

However, critics have raised concerns about the safety of the procedure, citing reports that the two individuals who have already died via this method shook for several minutes before expiring. Alabama maintains that its "nitrogen hypoxia protocol" is constitutional, but human rights activists are calling for further scrutiny of the new execution method as it is adopted by other states.

The state's first attempt to use lethal injection last year was widely criticized and eventually abandoned after botching an execution attempt. This move comes following a long and contentious history of death penalty controversy in the United States.

Vickie Deblieux, 37, was found brutally murdered near Odenville, Alabama, on February 26, 1994. Prosecutors alleged that four teenagers offered her a ride, took her to a wooded area, attacked her, and then threw her off a cliff before mutilating her body. The murder remains one of the most brutal and senseless crimes in American history.

Grayson's attorneys had argued that their client deserved more scrutiny due to concerns over the effectiveness of the nitrogen gas method. They had requested that the U.S. Supreme Court grant a stay on Grayson's execution, stating that he was unable to confirm whether this would cause "conscious suffocation" and claiming that the first two individuals executed via nitrogen suffered for several minutes before expiration.

However, the Alabama attorney general's office countered that these claims were speculative and that Grayson's conviction had already passed muster. The court ultimately voted in favor of allowing Grayson's execution to proceed.