Alabama executed Carey Dale Grayson, 50, on Thursday evening using nitrogen gas, marking the third use of this controversial method in the state. Grayson, convicted of the brutal 1994 murder of Vickie Deblieux, a 37-year-old hitchhiker, was pronounced dead at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southern Alabama.
The execution method, introduced in Alabama earlier this year, replaces breathable air with pure nitrogen, causing death by oxygen deprivation. While the state maintains its constitutionality, critics argue that the method requires more scrutiny. “The normalization of gas suffocation as an execution method is deeply troubling,” said Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action.
A heinous crime in Alabama
Grayson, one of four teenagers convicted in Deblieux’s killing, was part of a crime that shocked the nation. Prosecutors detailed how Deblieux, hitchhiking from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to her mother’s home in Louisiana, accepted a ride from the teens. They drove her to a wooded area where she was brutally attacked and beaten before being thrown off a cliff near Odenville, Alabama. The teens later returned to mutilate her body. A medical examiner testified that Deblieux’s injuries were so severe her face was unrecognizable, and her fingers had been severed. Investigators identified the teens after one of them showed a friend a severed finger and bragged about the killing.
Controversial execution process
Grayson’s final moments added to the controversy surrounding his execution. While condemned inmates are typically given a chance to say their last words, Grayson’s microphone was removed after he insulted the staff. “For you, you need to f–k off,” he said before prison officials cut off his remarks. “He’s insulted most of our staff tonight, so we decided not to give him the chance to use that kind of profanity,” said Commissioner John Hamm.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Grayson’s appeal for a stay of execution. His attorneys had argued that the novel nitrogen gas method warranted additional judicial review.
“Given this is the first new execution method used in the United States since lethal injection was first used in 1982, it is appropriate for this Court to reach the issues surrounding this novel method,” Grayson’s attorneys wrote.
They also filed an emergency motion requesting that Grayson be allowed a sedative to manage his fear of the process, but the motion was later withdrawn.
Debate over nitrogen gas as an execution method
Nitrogen gas executions, first implemented in Alabama, have sparked significant debate. Proponents argue that the method is a humane alternative, with state officials asserting that the process results in death within minutes. “Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia protocol has been successfully used twice, and both times it resulted in a death within a matter of minutes,” state attorneys wrote in court filings.
However, reports from the first two executions described inmates visibly shaking for several minutes before death, raising concerns about the method’s effectiveness and humanity. Critics warn that the adoption of nitrogen hypoxia by other states could lead to normalization without adequate oversight.
Deblieux’s murder remains a harrowing reminder of the brutality Grayson and his co-defendants inflicted on their victims. Despite the legal battles and ethical concerns surrounding his execution, her family continues to seek closure. As Alabama forges ahead with its nitrogen gas protocol, the case underscores the broader debate over capital punishment methods in the United States. Whether nitrogen hypoxia will withstand constitutional challenges or face further scrutiny remains an open question.
