A federal judge heard testimony regarding Alabama’s first two executions using nitrogen gas, as the state prepares to use this method again for the scheduled execution of inmate Carey Dale Grayson on November 21.
Grayson’s attorneys have filed a motion for a preliminary injunction, arguing that Alabama officials have ignored significant problems with the current execution protocol, which they believe requires modification.
The attorneys say Alabama officials need to make required changes to the procedure, adding in a court filing that state officials “have chosen to ignore clear and obvious signs the current protocol contains major problems.” Alabama is pushing to proceed with the execution, writing in a court filing that it’s time for “Grayson’s lawful sentence to be carried out.”
Grayson was one of four teenagers convicted for the 1994 murder of 37-year-old Vickie Deblieux in Jefferson County. Prosecutors reported that Deblieux was hitchhiking from Tennessee to her mother’s home in Louisiana when the teenagers offered her a ride. They drove her to a wooded area, where they assaulted her, threw her off a cliff, and subsequently mutilated her body. Grayson is the only one of the four facing the death penalty.
Witnesses, including those from The Associated Press, reported observing inmates shaking on the gurney for several minutes, followed by what appeared to be laboured breathing interspersed with long pauses, suggesting a painful death during the state’s previous two nitrogen gas executions of Kenneth Smith in January and Alan Miller last month.
Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm testified that he was not troubled by how the executions happened, as the observed involuntary movements were expected. Captain Brandon McKenzie, a member of the execution team, said that Smith’s pulse oximeter initially showed high oxygen levels, leading to speculation that he may have held his breath, prolonging the execution process.
Autopsy findings revealed fluid in Smith’s lungs, with Dr. Brian McAlary suggesting this could result from negative pressure pulmonary edema, implying potential psychological distress during the execution. Testimony is set to continue on Wednesday.
The nitrogen gas method involves placing a mask over the inmate’s face and replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen, which leads to death by lack of oxygen. This technique has raised ethical concerns about its humaneness, with critics arguing that it does not result in the quick death claimed by state officials.