On November 21, 2024, the third nitrogen gas execution in America will be conducted, per Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. The death sentences, which are scheduled for November 2024, will make it the third nitrogas execution in the state.
On Monday, August 19, 2024, Governor Kay Ivey announced the execution of Carey Dale Grayson by nitrogen gas. The governor’s press release came after Alabama Supreme Court Judge Grayson ruled that the execution could be carried out. In 1994, Grayson was sentenced to death for the murder of 37-year-old Vickie Deblieux.
Nitrogen Gas Execution in Alabama
In January 2024, Alabama became the first American state to utilize nitrogen gas in death sentence executions. The recipient, Kenneth Smith, who was convicted of murder, had previously survived a lethal injection execution in 2022.
However, following Smith’s execution in January 2024, witnesses have described the method as cruel and extremely painful. According to eyewitness testimony, during the execution, Smith was seen writhing in pain, often pulling against his restraints.
The execution lasted several minutes and was marked by Smith’s heavy breathing until it was no longer detectable. Since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982, Smith’s execution was the first time in America that another execution method has been used.
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The second nitrogen gas execution for Alan Eugene Miller is scheduled for September 26, 2024. In 2022, Millet survived his execution, which was carried out using the lethal injection method.
Matt Schulz, Grayson’s attorney, stated that he was disappointed that Grayson’s execution was approved before federal courts could hear it. Schulz stated that he and his client were hoping to file a federal lawsuit challenging the legality of Alabama’s current nitrogen protocol under the constitution.
Grayson, along with Louis Christopher Mangione, Kenny Loggins, and Trace Duncan, tortured and killed Deblieux in 1994. After offering her a ride, they attacked and mutilated the teenager before throwing her off a cliff.
Loggins and Duncan had their death sentences overturned due to their age at the time; Grayson, aged 19 during the crime, did not. Mangione was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Is Nitrogen Gas Execution Painful?
According to the lawsuit, during a botched human experiment by officials, the first person executed using Nitrogen gas execution in the country shook violently for several minutes. The case, which was filed in federal court in Alabama, claims Kenneth Eugene Smith’s nitrogen gas execution in January 2024 was cruel and “cannot be allowed to be repeated.”
Although Miller had filed a lawsuit against the nitrogen gas method, he reached a “confidential settlement agreement” with Alabama State in August 2024. On Tuesday, August 20, 2024, Grayson’s attorneys filed a lawsuit to prevent the state from using the method.
The lawsuit, using witness testimony from Smith’s execution, argues that the method was inhumane and that Smith showed signs of conscious suffocation. The lawsuit argues witness statements about Smith’s shaking contradict state claims of nitrogen’s effects. The state had claimed that nitrogen gas would provide a quick and merciful death for the death row inmates.
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Attorney Bernard E. Harcourt wrote in the lawsuit, “The results of the first human experiment are now in, and they demonstrate that nitrogen gas asphyxiation is neither quick nor painless, but agonizing and painful.” Harcourt filed the lawsuit for David Phillip Wilson, a death row inmate convicted of a 2004 burglary murder.
How Long Does Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution Take?
When combined with oxygen, nitrogen makes up 78% of the air humans breathe in and is safe to inhale. The idea behind the execution technique is that if the air were all nitrogen, the prisoner would pass out and eventually die from a lack of oxygen.
Smith’s execution took 22 minutes, contradicting Alabama State specialists who said nitrogen would induce cardiac death within five minutes. Although experts had claimed that Smith would not suffer, eyewitness testimony showed otherwise.
What Does Nitrogen Gas Do to a Human?
Inhaling a high dose of nitrogen hypoxia would result in the body substituting nitrogen for oxygen, which would be fatal. Nitrogen gas inhalation quickly depletes the body of life, with a person becoming aware that they are dying.
According to Dr. Jonathan Groner, a surgical professor at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, the procedure renders the respiratory system inoperable. Some officials argue that this method of execution is more merciful as the victim may quickly lose consciousness.
However, doctors have stated that they cannot predict if or when a person exposed will lose consciousness.
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What Does the Human Body Do With Inhaled Nitrogen?
From the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith, nitrogen gas inhaled in its pure form can cause severe damage to the human body. Like other gases and small molecules you breathe in, nitrogen gas does enter your bloodstream.
In the lungs, passive diffusion is in charge and directs matter toward the region of lower concentration, in this case, the blood. In terms of biology, animals that have lungs do not truly need nitrogen gas. This is a result of its low chemical reactivity with our available enzymes.
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