In Montgomery, Alabama, a federal judge heard testimonies on Tuesday about the nation's first two nitrogen gas executions after lawyers for death row inmate Carey Dale Grayson asked for an injunction to halt his execution.
The judge is now considering whether to allow Alabama to use this method again next month for another execution .
Lawyers representing Carey Dale Grayson argue that Alabama officials need to make changes to the procedure, stating in a court filing that they "have chosen to ignore clear and obvious signs the current protocol contains major problems."
However, Alabama is urging the judge to let the execution proceed as planned on November 21, Grayson's scheduled execution date.
Alabama has already conducted two executions using nitrogen gas. Media witnesses, including The Associated Press, reported that the inmates shook on the gurney for two minutes or longer, their spasms followed by what seemed like several minutes of periodic labored breaths with long pauses in between.
The execution method involves placing a respirator gas mask over the inmate's face to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death by lack of oxygen. This method has sparked debate about its humaneness, with critics arguing that the state's execution protocol does not deliver the quick death the state claimed it would.
Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm testified previously that he had no concerns about how the executions were carried out. He stated that involuntary movements, including the type of breathing observed during the last two executions by nitrogen gas, were anticipated based on his research.
The testimony was still ongoing on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier this year in January, the state executed Kenneth Smith , marking the country's first nitrogen gas execution . Another execution using nitrogen gas was slated for Alan Eugene Miller on September 26.
While lethal injection remains the primary method of execution in the state, inmates can choose death by nitrogen gas or the electric chair. Following the execution of Smith using nitrogen gas in January, the state has begun seeking execution dates for the numerous inmates who have selected nitrogen as their preferred method of execution.
This move comes amidst ongoing disputes and legal battles over what occurred during the first execution using nitrogen. During his execution, Smith experienced seizure-like convulsions for over two minutes while strapped to the gurney in the execution chamber. This was followed by several minutes of labored breathing.
Grayson was found guilty of the 1994 murder of Vickie Deblieux in Jefferson County. Prosecutors revealed that Ms Deblieux, 37, was hitchhiking from Tennessee to her mother's home in Louisiana when the four individuals picked her up. They transported her to a secluded woodland area where she was brutally attacked, beaten and thrown off a cliff. The then-teens later returned to further desecrate her body, stabbing her a shocking 180 times.
Grayson, along with Kenny Loggins and Trace Duncan, were all found guilty and sentenced to death. However, due to their age at the time of the crime - under 18 - Loggins and Duncan had their death sentences overturned following a 2005 US Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the execution of offenders who were minors when they committed their crimes.
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