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Three decades after his conviction for a horrific murder, Carey Dale Grayson’s execution by nitrogen gas lasted barely half an hour, yet his final moments were marked by defiance and profanity.
At Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama, the execution began at 6:06 p.m., with Grayson secured to a gurney and fitted with a gas mask. When Warden Terry Raybon invited his final statement, Grayson responded with an expletive-laden outburst, prompting officials to cut his microphone.
Alabama has successfully used nitrogen hypoxia to carry out Carey Grayson’s execution. He was convicted and unanimously sentenced to death for the murder of Vickie Deblieux in 1994.https://t.co/OxbGO9PBCT pic.twitter.com/WCWL5Imijd
— Attorney General Steve Marshall (@AGSteveMarshall) November 22, 2024
Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Q. Hamm explained the decision, noting Grayson’s consistent verbal abuse toward staff throughout the evening. Undeterred, Grayson made a final vulgar gesture at 6:11 p.m., raising both middle fingers before the nitrogen flow began.
According to his attorney and spiritual advisor, Kacey Keeton, Grayson expressed last-minute remorse for his crime and criticized capital punishment before being declared dead at 6:33 p.m.
The execution stemmed from the 1994 murder of Vicki DeBlieux, a 37-year-old mother. Grayson, then 19, and three younger teens offered her a ride while she was hitchhiking. What followed was a brutal assault that ended in her death.
“The defendant, along with the others threw bottles at Ms. Debleiux, who began to run from them. They tackled her to the ground and began to kick her repeatedly all over her body. When they noticed that she was still alive, one of them stood on her throat, supported by the Defendant, until she gurgled blood and said ‘Okay, I’ll party,’ then died,” states the trial court summary.
The group’s actions grew more disturbing as they transported her body to Bald Rock Mountain, where they committed further atrocities, including multiple stabbings and dismemberment.
As the only adult perpetrator, Grayson faced execution while his accomplices avoided death sentences due to their age and a 2005 Supreme Court ruling against executing juvenile offenders.
JUSTICE SERVED!
Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was executed this evening at William C. Holman Correctional facility in Alabama.
He and two accomplices brutally beat, raped and murdered a woman by throwing her off a cliff and then mutilated her body.
Burn in hell. pic.twitter.com/aGcZu219D0
— Rob (@_ROB_29) November 22, 2024
Alabama remains unique in implementing nitrogen hypoxia executions, though Mississippi and Oklahoma have approved the method.
Governor Kay Ivey defended the execution method, stating, “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 … An execution by nitrogen hypoxia (bears) no comparison to the death and dismemberment Ms. DeBlieux experienced.”
