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Alabama sets a June date for its 5th execution using nitrogen gas

May 8, 2025, 4:52 PM

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama plans to carry out another execution by nitrogen gas and has set a June execution date for a man convicted of the 1988 killing of a woman.

Gregory Hunt is scheduled to be put to death June 10 for the 1988 beating death of Karen Lane. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday announced the execution date following authorization by the Alabama Supreme Court.

Alabama last year became the first state to carry out an execution with nitrogen gas. Nitrogen has now been used in five executions — four in Alabama and one in Louisiana. The method involves using a gas mask to force a person to breathe pure nitrogen gas, depriving them of the oxygen needed to stay alive.

If the execution goes forward, Hunt would be the sixth person put to death by the new execution method.

Lane was found dead on Aug. 2, 1988, in the Cordova apartment she shared with another woman. Hunt had been dating the victim, Lane, for about one month before her death, according to court records.

Prosecutors said Hunt broke into her apartment and killed her. A physician who performed an autopsy testified that Lane had sustained some 60 injuries, including 20 to the head.

A jury in 1990 convicted Hunt of capital murder and recommended by a vote of 11-1 that he receive a death sentence.

The Alabama attorney general’s office, in a motion seeking the execution date, wrote there was no doubt about his guilt and said that Hunt had admitted to his cellmate that he killed Lane. Lawyers for Hunt had asked the court to wait on an execution date. They argued that a February U.S. Supreme Court decision could be applicable to his longstanding claim that his conviction was unconstitutionally obtained by false or misleading evidence.

Hunt had named nitrogen as his preferred method. The selection was made before Alabama had developed procedures for using gas. Alabama also allows to choose lethal injection or the electric chair.

If the execution goes forward, it would be the third execution in Alabama this year.

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