**Alabama Prepares for Third Execution by Nitrogen Gas**

Carey Dale Grayson, a 50-year-old inmate convicted of the 1994 murder of hitchhiker Vickie Deblieux, is set to become the third individual executed by nitrogen gas in the United States. Grayson, one of four teenagers involved in the brutal killing of the 37-year-old woman, is scheduled for execution at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in south Alabama.

Deblieux's life came to a tragic end on February 26, 1994, when she was hitchhiking through Alabama en route to her mother’s home in Louisiana. According to prosecutors, she accepted a ride from four teens who then took her to a secluded area where they attacked, beat, and ultimately threw her off a cliff. They later returned to mutilate her body. Her remains were so severely damaged that identification was only possible through an earlier spinal X-ray, with her fingers also found severed.

Grayson is the only one of the four facing the death penalty, as he was 19 at the time of the crime, while the others were under 18. The US Supreme Court has since banned the execution of offenders under 18, converting two of the death sentences to life in prison.

The state of Alabama has introduced nitrogen gas as a new method of execution this year, marking the first new method since lethal injection began in 1982. The process involves replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen, causing death by oxygen deprivation. However, this method has not been without controversy. Critics point out that the first two executions resulted in prolonged shaking, urging for more thorough examination before widespread adoption.

Grayson's legal team made appeals focusing on the need for closer inspection of this untested technique. They argued that nitrogen hypoxia might cause "conscious suffocation," opposing the state's claim of a swift and painless death. Lawyers sought a stay of execution from the US Supreme Court to allow time for evaluating the constitutionality of this method.

Additionally, Grayson's attorneys filed an emergency motion on Thursday morning, requesting that he be permitted to take a sedative to alleviate his fears. Despite asking for the sedative on Wednesday, he was informed by his prison medical provider that it was "too late."

The Alabama attorney general's office defended the execution's continuation, stating that both previous nitrogen executions resulted in death within minutes. The legal team for the state asserts that the lower court found Grayson’s objections to be speculative, maintaining confidence in the nitrogen hypoxia protocol's effectiveness.

The scheduled execution of Grayson highlights ongoing debates and varying perspectives surrounding the use of new methods in capital punishment, especially as Alabama pioneers the controversial use of nitrogen gas.