Alabama Executes Third Inmate by Nitrogen Gas Amidst International Condemnation
Carey Grayson, 50, was executed Thursday in Alabama by nitrogen gas, becoming the third person in the United States to die by this controversial method, Al Jazeera reports.
The execution proceeded despite a last-minute Supreme Court rejection of a stay, which argued the method constituted cruel and unusual punishment.
Grayson was convicted of the brutal 1994 murder of Vickie Lynn Deblieux, a hitchhiker whose mutilated body was found with 180 stab wounds, a missing lung, and severed fingers and thumbs. Deblieux was traveling to her mother’s home in Louisiana when she was attacked.
Alabama is the only state to have used nitrogen gas executions, carrying out three this year. While state officials claim it is the most humane method, critics argue it constitutes a form of torture. Witnesses reported Grayson shaking his head, struggling against restraints, and gasping for several minutes before being pronounced dead. Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm dismissed the visible distress, stating Grayson’s movements were “for show.”
The execution has drawn sharp international criticism. A group of United Nations experts issued a statement Thursday calling for a global ban on nitrogen gas executions, declaring the practice a violation of international law.
The death penalty remains legal in 21 US states, including Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia. So far in 2024, 22 executions have been carried out across the United States.
