Carey Dale Grayson, convicted for the 1994 murder of Vickie Deblieux, is set to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia in Alabama on Thursday.
Nitrogen hypoxia, which involves the inhalation of nitrogen gas to induce asphyxiation, has raised concerns about prolonged suffering and potential violations of the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
This method has been controversial following reports of distress during previous executions in Alabama, where the men executed appeared to struggle before dying.
Grayson’s defense team has argued that the use of nitrogen hypoxia poses unacceptable risks, citing issues observed in earlier executions using the method. Despite this, a federal appeals court rejected their objections, allowing the execution to proceed.
Grayson had requested nitrogen hypoxia as his execution method before the protocol was finalized, and he is set to become the sixth person executed in Alabama this year.
His crime, the brutal murder of 37-year-old Deblieux in 1994, was committed when he was 19, while his co-defendants, some of whom were under 18, had their death sentences commuted to life in prison after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against juvenile executions.