Anish Vij
In his shocking final moments, a death row murderer spewed seven last words before being executed.
Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was sentenced to death after the brutal murder of hitchhiker Vickie Deblieux, 37, in 1994.
Deblieux was in Tennessee when she was looking to get a ride home to her mum's place in Louisiana when four people picked her up in a vehicle.
The group drove Deblieux to an isolated spot in the woods and assaulted her before throwing her off a cliff.
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Gov. Kay Ivey said: "Some thirty years ago, Vicki DeBlieux’s journey to her mother’s house and ultimately, her life, were horrifically cut short because of Carey Grayson and three other men.
"She sensed something was wrong, attempted to escape, but instead, was brutally tortured and murdered."
She said his crimes 'were heinous, unimaginable, without an ounce of regard for human life and just unexplainably mean. An execution by nitrogen hypoxia (bears) no comparison to the death and dismemberment Ms. DeBlieux experienced'.
Now, Grayson became just the third person put to death by nitrogen gas at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in southern Alabama on Thursday (14 November).
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The controversial execution method 'nitrogen hypoxia' involves breathing in nitrogen through a respirator placed over the inmate's nose and mouth - killing them as a result of oxygen deprivation.
Kenneth Smith, 58, was the first to be executed via nitrogen hypoxia earlier this year, and Alan Miller, 59, was the second person in US.
At 6.33pm local time, Grayson reportedly suffocated on the gas which was delivered through a mask.
But before he died, Grayson uttered: "For you, you need to f*** off," to the governor who asked if he had any last words.
He then issued both of his middles fingers up at the warden.
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So far, only the state of Alabama has used nitrogen hypoxia to carry out a death sentence.
David Morton, professor emeritus of biomedical science and ethics at the University of Birmingham in the UK, previously warned against the method, adding: "It is effective, but it can cause severe distress before unconsciousness and death ensue. In effect it is a suffocation method.
"It is likely also that there will be considerable species variation, and we are not sure what will happen in humans.
"Animal experiments are usually used as a proxy for humans, but not so in this case it seems – the ultimate test is being carried out using a human being."
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In 2018, Alabama became the third state, along with Oklahoma and Mississippi, to authorise nitrogen gas to execute inmates.