The state of Alabama has carried out the third nitrogen hypoxia execution in U.S. history, despite criticism of this method, NBC News reports.
An inmate from Alabama, convicted of a 1994 murder, died on Thursday as the result of the third nitrogen execution this year, the report states. The executed individual, 50-year-old Carey Dale Grayson, expressed remorse for his crime before the execution, emphasizing that he had regretted his actions for 30 years.
In 1994, Grayson and three accomplices abducted and murdered a young woman who was hitchhiking from Tennessee to Louisiana. They offered her a ride, but instead took her to a wooded area, where they brutally beat her, threw her off a cliff, and later mutilated her body. At the time of the crime, Grayson was 19 years old, while his accomplices were minors, allowing them to avoid the death penalty. Grayson was the only one sentenced to death.
The nitrogen execution procedure involves the use of a breathing mask that administers nitrogen, causing hypoxia and ultimately, death.
In January 2024, Alabama executed 58-year-old Kenneth Eugene Smith using the same method. Smith had been convicted of a contract killing in 1988. The method sparked international criticism at the time, with the United Nations and the European Union condemning its use.
