MONTGOMERY, Alabama – An Alabama man convicted of killing a hitchhiker in 1994 was executed on Thursday evening at the William Holman correctional facility in southern Alabama. Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was put to death through nitrogen gas, becoming the third person in the nation to face this method of capital punishment.
Grayson and three other teenagers were convicted of killing Vickie DeBlieux, 37, by attacking her as she hitchhiked through Alabama on her way to her mother’s home in Louisiana. The crime involved beating her and throwing her off a cliff.
The atmosphere in the execution room became tense as Grayson cursed at the warden and made obscene gestures while strapped to a gurney with a gas mask. Witness accounts stated that Grayson exhibited discomfort during the process, raising his legs off the gurney and gasping for breath before eventually being pronounced dead.
Alabama has faced criticism for using nitrogen gas as a method for executions, with concerns raised about the lack of swift unconsciousness and potential suffering experienced by the individuals being put to death. Despite the controversy surrounding this execution method, the state has carried out three nitrogen gas executions so far.
The victim’s daughter, Jodi Haley, who was only 12 years old when her mother was killed, spoke out against the decision to execute Grayson. She expressed her belief that no one should have the right to take away another person’s life, even under the guise of justice. Haley emphasized that murder in the name of justice must come to an end.
The execution took place after the US supreme court denied Grayson’s request for a stay, with his lawyers arguing against the use of nitrogen gas due to concerns of conscious suffocation. The state defended the method, claiming it to be a humane way of execution, although eyewitnesses reported instances of discomfort and movement by the individuals being put to death.