MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama is preparing for its third execution using nitrogen gas, amidst concerns from critics who believe the method requires more examination before inflicting death on another individual.
Carey Dale Grayson, convicted for the murder of Vickie Deblieux in 1994, is set to be executed on Thursday through a technique that Alabama adopted earlier this year. This process involves fitting a gas mask over the inmate’s face, replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen, which results in death due to the lack of oxygen. Recently, the 11th U.S. Court of Appeals heard pleas aimed at halting the execution.
In the courtroom, the attorneys for Grayson clashed with representatives from the Alabama attorney general’s office over the state’s initial nitrogen gas executions and the possibility of inflicting unconstitutional pain upon the inmate, both physically and mentally.
John Palombi, an attorney for the Federal Defenders Program, asserted that the protocol, as it is currently outlined, is intended to suffocate a conscious individual, which contradicts Supreme Court rulings in the United States.
“The concern is that the inmate experiences conscious suffocation before the nitrogen takes effect,” Palombi explained, arguing that enduring suffocation while aware constitutes a form of terror. He urged the court to block Grayson’s execution or modify the procedure to include a high-dose sedative prior to the administration of gas.
Some judges on the panel expressed skepticism towards Grayson’s claims. One judge raised the question of how this new method differs from the gas chamber, which has seen no usage for executions since 1999 but remains legally permissible.
An attorney for the state advocated for the execution, claiming that nitrogen hypoxia induces rapid unconsciousness without physical discomfort.
“While nitrogen hypoxia does deprive oxygen, it’s not comparable to suffocation as commonly understood, such as drowning or suffocating with a plastic bag,” asserted Robert Overing, Alabama’s deputy solicitor general.
He suggested that Grayson’s characterization of the process as suffocation was merely a tactic to incite fear.
One of the judges on the panel pointed out inconsistencies in a state’s expert prediction that nitrogen would cause unconsciousness within 10 to 40 seconds, contrasting this with observations from the first two executions, which saw inmates display physical movements and prolonged labored breathing. Witness accounts included descriptions of inmates shaking on the gurney for extended periods. Although the state argued that these movements were involuntary, the discrepancies raised doubts.
Overing acknowledged the complexities of determining the precise moment an inmate becomes unconscious, stating that Kenneth Smith, during his January execution, might have held his breath, extending the process longer than anticipated.
Grayson was one of four teenagers charged in connection with the murder of Deblieux, who was 37 years old. According to the prosecution, Deblieux was hitchhiking from Tennessee to visit her mother in Louisiana when the group picked her up. They took her to a remote area, assaulted her, pushed her off a cliff, and later dismembered her body.
Grayson stands as the only one among the group to face execution; the death sentences of the other two juveniles were dismissed following a Supreme Court ruling against executing individuals who were under 18 at the time of their crimes. Grayson was 19 at the time of the incident.