Atmore, AL – The State of Alabama on Tuesday evening carried out the execution of Gregory Hunt by nitrogen hypoxia at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. Hunt was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1988 capital murder of 32-year-old Karen Sanders Lane in Cordova, Alabama. His death was pronounced at 6:26 p.m., following Attorney General Steve Marshall’s clearance at 5:56 p.m.
This marks the fifth time Alabama has used nitrogen hypoxia—a method authorized since 2018—as a means of execution. The Alabama Department of Corrections began using it in January 2024, and several death row inmates have since opted for the method.
Karen Lane was brutally murdered in the early morning hours of August 2, 1988, after an increasingly volatile relationship with Hunt. Evidence presented at trial detailed a pattern of escalating threats and violent behavior, culminating in Hunt breaking into a friend’s apartment and inflicting fatal blunt force trauma on Lane. A medical examiner documented approximately 60 injuries on her body, including extensive head trauma, broken ribs, and internal organ damage. Hunt was convicted of capital murder by a Walker County jury and sentenced to death.
Attorney General Marshall issued a statement Tuesday night, describing the execution as a long-overdue step toward justice for Lane’s family, stating, “Karen was a young woman whose life was stolen in the most brutal and dehumanizing way imaginable.” He emphasized that Hunt had more than 30 years to present evidence of innocence and did not do so.
Governor Kay Ivey also declined to exercise clemency powers, authorizing the Alabama Department of Corrections to proceed. In a public statement, Ivey reaffirmed Hunt’s conviction and noted that he had previously admitted guilt in a letter to Lane’s father.
Hunt’s execution drew attention both for the circumstances of the original crime and the use of nitrogen hypoxia, a relatively new method intended to induce unconsciousness through the inhalation of pure nitrogen gas. Officials have described the method as a humane and efficient alternative to lethal injection.
No further appeals or legal interventions were successful in delaying the execution.
