Alabama: Carey Dale Grayson executed – third execution with nitrogen
On Thursday evening, 50-year-old Carey Dale Grayson was executed by the administration of pure nitrogen in the US state of Alabama.
He was sentenced to death for murdering a 37-year-old woman in 1994 at the age of 19 together with three other teenagers, one of whom was 16 and two of whom were 17.
The youths had picked up their victim while hitchhiking, abducted the woman and finally killed her under the influence of alcohol. Three of the perpetrators then mutilated their victim’s body in an extremely gruesome manner.
Instead of last words, Grayson insulted the prison warden and made obscene gestures. He had berated most of the prison staff that evening, a correctional officer explained, explaining the fact that the warden quickly removed the microphone from Grayson so that the rest of the rant could not be heard.
Grayson suffered from bipolar disorder, his mother died when Grayson was three years old after losing her battle with her psychic illnesses.
When the vital oxygen was replaced with pure nitrogen, Grayson reacted with a gasp, lifting and shaking his head from left to right. Two minutes later, both legs on the stretcher lifted. His movements eventually slowed, but he seemed to gasp for air periodically for the next six minutes, during which he did not move.
It was the third execution with nitrogen – according to eyewitnesses, suffocation is far from peaceful falling asleep, but quite gruesome.