Court allows Alabama to proceed with nitrogen gas execution this week

A federal appeals court has allowed Alabama to proceed with its third execution using nitrogen gas, rejecting claims that the method causes unconstitutional pain. Carey Dale Grayson is scheduled to be executed on Thursday for a 1994 murder. The 11th U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's ruling, stating there was insufficient evidence to prove that nitrogen hypoxia poses a substantial risk of conscious suffocation. Grayson's attorney plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Protests against the execution took place outside the Alabama Capitol, with demonstrators arguing that the method is torturous. The state maintains that the movements observed during previous executions were involuntary and not indicative of pain.