Alabama carries out third nitrogen hypoxia execution in the country
ATMORE, Ala. (WKRG) — Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was executed by nitrogen hypoxia Thursday evening at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama.
Grayson, who fought the restraints, was the third person to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia in the state — and also the country. He was officially pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m.
Curtains opened to viewers of the execution at 6:06 p.m. At that time, Grayson was already strapped to a gurney wearing a full-face mask, a witness from Nexstar's WKRG reported.
When Holman Correctional Facility Warden Terry Raybon asked Grayson what his final words were, Grayson responded, "Uh yeah, for you, you need to f--- off." His microphone was muted as he continued.
"That was enough," Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm said. "He's cussed out most of our employees tonight, so we're not going to give him the opportunity to just spew that profanity."
At 6:11 p.m. Grayson raised both middle fingers just before gas was administered. He was approached by his spiritual advisor, who appeared to calm him down, and he gave a thumbs up.
Shortly after, Grayson's body began to twitch as he appeared to let out a brief yell. At 6:14 p.m., Grayson's legs rose into the air for about 30 seconds before lowering back down to the gurney. His fists appeared to be clinched tightly.
"The first movements he was doing and all of that, in our opinion and other staff, that was all show," Hamm said.
At 6:15 p.m., Grayson's hand relaxed, a sign that he could have slipped out of consciousness.
From 6:13 p.m. to 6:20 p.m., Grayson appeared to gasp for air 14 times. Each gasp was spaced 15 to 30 seconds apart. His last gasp was smaller than the rest.
"You are going to have involuntary body movement in the nitrogen hypoxia executions," Hamm said.
Grayson appeared to stop breathing at 6:21 p.m. The curtains closed at 6:27 p.m., six minutes before he was pronounced dead. Hamm said nitrogen flowed through Grayson's mask for about 15 minutes total. He flatlined after about 10 minutes.
Grayson had been sentenced to death for the brutal 1994 murder of 37-year-old Vicki DeBlieux in Odenville, Alabama. DeBlieux was hitchhiking from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to her mother's house in West Monroe, Louisiana, but she never made it due to the actions of Carey Dale Grayson and three others, a jury determined.
"I don't know what it is like to have a mother going through life," Jodi Haley, DeBlieux's daughter, said. Haley was 12 when her mother was killed.
"Society failed this man as a child, and my family suffered because of it," she added.
Still, Haley told reporters on Thursday night that she did not believe Grayson should have been killed.
“Murdering inmates under the guise of justice needs to stop,” she said, adding that "no one should have the right to take a person's possibilities, days, and life."
Prosecutors said the four boys, who were teenagers at the time, took DeBlieux to a wooded area and beat her to death. The group then cut DeBlieux's fingers off before throwing her body off a cliff.
Grayson and his friends returned to the body later to mutilate it even further. Investigators narrowed in on the group when one of the boys showed a friend one of DeBlieux's severed fingers and boasted about the killing.
Grayson, who was 19 at the time, was the only one from the group to be sentenced to death. The U.S. Supreme Court overruled the death penalty for the other three teenagers because they were under the age of 18 at the time of the murder. Instead, they were sentenced to life in prison.
Grayson submitted appeals in hopes of avoiding an execution by nitrogen hypoxia, calling for more scrutiny of the new method.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey responded, saying she felt his punishment was just.
“Some 30 years ago, Vicki DeBlieux’s journey to her mother’s house and ultimately, her life, were horrifically cut short because of Carey Grayson and three other men," Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said. "She sensed something was wrong, attempted to escape, but instead, was brutally tortured and murdered. Even after her death, Mr. Grayson’s crimes against Ms. DeBlieux were heinous, unimaginable, without an ounce of regard for human life and just unexplainably mean.
"An execution by nitrogen hypoxia bares no comparison to the death and dismemberment Ms. DeBlieux experienced," Gov. Ivey continued. "I pray for her loved ones that they may continue finding closure and healing."
According to the Alabama Department of Corrections, Grayson had 11 visitors and three phone calls the day before his execution, and three visitors and two phone calls on Thursday.
A news release from the department also said Grayson refused his breakfast and lunch trays on Thursday, but ate a final meal of soft tacos, beef burritos, a tostada, chips, guacamole and a Mountain Dew Blast.
Earlier this year, Alabama became the third state — along with Oklahoma and Mississippi — to authorize the use of nitrogen gas to execute prisoners, a method that uses a respirator gas mask to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen. The first such execution took place in January, followed by another in September.
No other state has yet to use nitrogen hypoxia to carry out a death sentence.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.