Alabama has put to death inmate Carey Dale Grayson for the 1994 murder of a hitchhiker, the third execution using nitrogen gas in the US.
Grayson, 50, was pronounced dead at 6:33 p.m. on Thursday at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in the state after the new method was used.
According to the Associated Press, Grayson swore at the prison warden and raised both middle fingers before he was executed.
The warden reportedly turned off the microphone as Grayson, with a gas mask strapped to his face, appeared to address state officials and the witness room.
He was one of four teenagers convicted of the slaying of Vickie Deblieux, 37, as she was hitchhiking in Alabama on the way to her mother’s home in Louisiana.
The execution took place hours after a request for a stay was rejected by the US Supreme Court. Lawyers for Grayson had argued that the new method of execution required more study before being used again.
Grayson became the 22nd inmate to be put to death in the US this year, Alabama’s sixth in 2024 and third in just two months, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
On February 21, 1994, Deblieux was dropped off by her friend in Chattanooga near Interstate 59, where she began hitchhiking to continue her trip southwest, according to USA TODAY.
At the same time, Grayson and three other teens were driving near Birmingham, Alabama, and spotted Deblieux on the side of the road looking for a ride.
The group stopped for Deblieux and invited her to ride with them. They then drove to nearby wooded area of Bald Mountain — and reportedly justified the stop by telling Deblieux they were swapping out vehicles — where they began attacking her.
The teens beat and kicked her outside of the car before Grayson and another teen ultimately killed her by standing on her throat.
The group threw her body from a cliff, and later returned to the area to mutilate her corpse. They cut the woman’s body at least 180 times, cut off her fingers, and removed a portion of her lungs, court records show.
In Alabama, inmates can choose to die by either nitrogen hypoxia, lethal injection or electrocution, with Grayson selecting the former. The controversial method was only used for the first time this year, when Alabama executed Kenneth Eugene Smith in January.
The unusual method of Smith’s execution sparked international backlash, including a protest from the Vatican.
Grayson is one of about 30 inmates on Alabama’s death row who have selected to die by nitrogen hypoxia. During the execution, the condemned person breathes in pure nitrogen through a mask, displacing the oxygen in their system. Proponents claim it is an instant and painless death, opponents claim it is untried and amounts to torture.
During Smith’s execution, he reportedly writhed and convulsed on a gurney for at least four minutes, rather than losing consciousness “within seconds,” as the state had previously predicted.
Despite those issues, the state’s Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm defended the execution as “textbook.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.