Alabama Inmate Faces Execution via Nitrogen Gas

Carey Dale Grayson, 50, is set to be executed Thursday evening in Alabama using nitrogen gas, a contentious method newly adopted by the state. Convicted of the 1994 murder of Vickie Deblieux, a hitchhiker passing through Alabama, Grayson is set to become the third individual put to death by this procedure. The US Supreme Court rejected Grayson's plea for a stay on Thursday morning.

Deblieux, 37, was discovered murdered in Odenville, Alabama, after accepting a ride from Grayson and three other teenagers as she tried to get to her mother's home in Louisiana. Her mutilated body was found beneath a bluff. Grayson, who was 19 at the time, is the only one sentenced to death as the other offenders were under 18, shielding them from capital punishment under US law. Since its introduction, nitrogen hypoxia—aimed to replace oxygen with nitrogen—has drawn significant scrutiny, especially after initial executions involved several minutes of shaking that critics say suggests swift unconsciousness and death did not occur as intended. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)