Carey Dale Grayson, a 50-year-old Alabama death row inmate, was executed on Thursday, November 21, becoming the third person in the U.S. to be put to death using nitrogen gas.
Grayson was convicted for the brutal murder of 37-year-old Vickie Lynn DeBlieux on February 21, 1994. DeBlieux, who was hitchhiking from Tennessee to Louisiana, was picked up by Grayson, then 19, and three other teenagers. Court records detail how they tortured, bludgeoned, and mutilated her before leaving her body on the side of a highway.
Grayson was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m., according to the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC). The execution marked the 22nd in the U.S. this year and the sixth in Alabama, which has controversially adopted nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method.
Witnesses described the process as distressing. ADOC Commissioner John Q. Hamm noted that Grayson’s initial movements seemed intentional but became involuntary as the nitrogen flowed. Grayson clenched his hands, gasped deeply, shook his head, and struggled against his restraints before losing consciousness six minutes into the procedure.
Governor Kay Ivey defended the execution method, stating, “An execution by nitrogen hypoxia bears no comparison to the death and dismemberment Ms. DeBlieux experienced.” She expressed her hope for continued healing and closure for DeBlieux’s family.
Jodi DeBlieux Haley, the victim’s daughter, shared emotional memories of her mother during a press conference. “She was unique, spontaneous, wild, and funny,” Haley said. “I’ve had to live my lifhttps://newsng.ng/e without her—through graduations, marriage, and having children. All those moments were stolen from her and from me.”
The use of nitrogen gas as an execution method remains highly controversial, with critics likening it to torture. Alabama, however, continues to defend its use as part of its capital punishment framework.
