Alabama carried out the state’s third execution using nitrogen gas Thursday afternoon.
The state executed Carey Dale Grayson, 50, at 6 p.m. CST. / 7 p.m. EST. Authorities sentenced him to death for the 1994 killing of 37-year-old Vickie Deblieux.
After the prison warden read the death warrant, the warden pointed the microphone at Grayson for his last words.
“For you, you have to kill,” Grayson said, according to Al.com.
The Alabama Department of Corrections released details of Grayson’s last meal and visitors taken by Alabama Real-Time News.
Grayson refused his breakfast and lunch trays but drank coffee and Mountain Dew. He ordered a seafood platter, soft tacos, beef burrito, tostada, chips with guacamole and a Mountain Dew Blast from a local restaurant for his last meal.
Alabama Department of Corrections via AP File
Grayson received visits from attorneys Matt Schulz, Kacey Keeton, and Robin Konrad. He also spoke to Konrad and Keeton on the phone, the outlet reported.
Grayson’s lawyers tried to block the execution, arguing that the nitrogen hypoxia method caused unconstitutional pain. However, the US Supreme Court rejected his request early Thursday afternoon.
What Crimes Did Carey Dale Grayson Do?
Grayson, one of four teenagers convicted in Deblieux’s 1994 murder in Jefferson County, received the death penalty. Prosecutors said Deblieux, hitchhiking from Tennessee to Louisiana, received a ride from a teenager, who instead drove him to a remote wooded area, attacked him, threw him off a cliff, and mutilated his body.
Grayson remains the only member of the group still facing the death penalty. The US Supreme Court commuted the sentences of two more teenagers after ruling against the execution of individuals under 18 when they committed crimes. Grayson is 19 years old.
What is the Nitrogen Gas Execution Method?
The nitrogen gas execution method involves placing a respirator mask over the inmate’s face, and replacing the air he can breathe with pure nitrogen to cause death from lack of oxygen. Critics argue Alabama’s protocol may not deliver the speedy deaths it claims, raising concerns about the potential for suffering.
Alabama Department of Corrections via AP File
In January, Kenneth Smith became the first person in the US to be executed using nitrogen gas, followed by Alan Miller in September. media witnesses, including journalists from The Associated Pressdescribed the man convulsing on the gurney for over two minutes. These movements are followed by heavy breathing, marked by long pauses, lasting several minutes.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker Jr. rejected a legal challenge to stop Alabama from using nitrogen gas to execute Grayson. The challenger argued the method might be unconstitutional or illegal, but the judge did not oppose it.
“The evidence as to what happened, or what the witnesses observed during Smith’s execution, is conflicting and inconsistent,” Huffaker said. “But the evidence shows that the nitrogen hypoxia protocol is successful and causes death in less than 10 minutes and loss of consciousness in less time.”
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