Alabama Executes Inmate Using Nitrogen Gas: Controversy Surrounds Unconventional Method
ATMORE, Ala. — Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was executed by nitrogen hypoxia on Thursday evening at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility, marking Alabama’s third use of this controversial execution method. Convicted of the 1994 murder of Vickie Deblieux, a 37-year-old hitchhiker, Grayson’s execution has reignited debates surrounding capital punishment.
Grayson was one of four teenagers involved in the brutal killing of Deblieux, who was beaten and thrown off a cliff while hitchhiking from Tennessee to Louisiana. Her mutilated body was found shortly after the incident. While Grayson faced the death penalty as he was 19 at the time, the others involved were underage and received lesser sentences.
As the execution proceeded, Grayson reacted defiantly, cursing at the prison warden and gesturing obscenely before the procedure began. Following a 15-minute gas administration period, Grayson displayed involuntary movements and gasping breaths, raising concerns from critics about the humanity of the nitrogen method. His execution was carried out hours after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his last-minute appeal, which questioned the effects of nitrogen gas on inmates and the method’s potential for causing suffering.
Deblieux’s daughter, Jodi Haley, who was just 12 when her mother was murdered, spoke out against the execution, emphasizing Grayson’s childhood abuse and the societal failures that contributed to his life of crime. “Murdering inmates under the guise of justice needs to stop,” she asserted.
Governor Kay Ivey expressed condolences to Deblieux’s family, stating Grayson’s crimes were “heinous” and “unimaginable.” The ethical implications of using nitrogen gas for executions remain a contentious issue, with Alabama uniquely positioned as the only state to implement the method for capital punishment thus far.
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