BREAKING: Alabama to Execute Prisoner with Nitrogen Gas for 1994 Murder
A U.S. district court in Alabama has set a date for the execution of Carey Dale Grayson, 50, who will become the third person to be executed by nitrogen gas on Thursday evening, according to sources.
Grayson was convicted of murdering 37-year-old Vickie Deblieux, a female hitchhiker, in 1994. The incident occurred while Deblieux was traveling from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to her mother's home in Louisiana. Four teenagers offered her a ride and attacked and beat her, leaving her with a mutilated body found at the bottom of a bluff near Odenville, Alabama.
The state has maintained that it chose nitrogen gas as the execution method after a lower court ruled it was constitutional. However, critics argue that the new method, which involves replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen gas to cause death by lack of oxygen, is still in need of more scrutiny following two recent executions using this method, with experts citing instances of inmates shaking for several minutes before losing consciousness.
As one of only three individuals among the four teenagers involved facing a death sentence, Grayson's execution has raised questions about Alabama's right to implement this new method without further review. His attorneys argue that the person experiences "conscious suffocation" and cited instances where swift unconsciousness and death did not occur as promised, prompting a request with the U.S. Supreme Court to stay his execution.
Notably, an earlier person executed by nitrogen gas experienced international outcry and raised concerns about this new method in the United States since lethal injection's introduction in 1982.
A medical professional testified that Deblieux's fractured face allowed for identification from her spine X-ray; her severed fingers also helped identify her among potential suspects. The two other teens involved were initially sentenced to death but had their sentences vacated following U.S. Supreme Court rulings on age criteria, leading one suspect to be sentenced to life in prison.
In recent months, concerns have been raised over Alabama's attempt at another execution by lethal injection after the botched method failed to result in a successful execution attempt; now this new nitrogen-based execution takes center stage due to its highly debated nature. With these circumstances weighing heavily on the impending death sentence of Carey Dale Grayson, there is growing unease globally surrounding his execution date.