After nearly four decades on death row, Gregory Hunt was executed Tuesday evening for the 1988 killing of 32-year-old Karen Lane. The 65-year-old inmate was put to death by nitrogen hypoxia at a prison in south Alabama, making it the second nitrogen gas execution in the state this year and the third overall in 2025.
According to court records, Hunt and Lane had been dating for just about a month when the horrific incident took place. Prosecutors said Hunt broke into Lane’s apartment, where she lived with his cousin, sexually assaulted her, and then killed her.
The execution of Gregory Hunt has been carried out by nitrogen hypoxia at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama. Death was pronounced at 6:26PM local time. The execution occurred without incident.
— Midwestern Americanist (@TheMidwesternA1) June 10, 2025
An autopsy later revealed Lane had suffered blunt force trauma with approximately 60 injuries, including 20 to the head.
Hunt was convicted in 1990 on three counts of capital murder related to the burglary and sexual abuse associated with the killing. The jury recommended the death penalty by a vote of 11-1, and Hunt has been on death row ever since.
It took nearly 37 years for an execution date to be set. Hunt had filed multiple appeals in the months leading up to his death, including a request for a stay of execution. In his filings, Hunt claimed prosecutors misled jurors with false evidence that led to his death sentence. He said they claimed there was cervical mucus found on a broomstick at the scene, yet the victim had undergone a hysterectomy and no longer had a cervix.
“The pathologist did not testify falsely,” the Alabama Attorney General’s Office responded, adding, “Rather, the prosecutor drew an inference from the evidence that, while supported, may have been inaccurate.”
Even as the execution neared, Hunt continued to assert that while he killed Lane, he did not sexually assault her. In a court filing last month, he said,
“I can’t explain what happened. All I can say is that she didn’t deserve what happened to her.”
Speaking in a telephone interview ahead of his execution, Hunt stated, “I don’t have no pity party. You know, I’m just battling until I get a break or they snuff my light out.” He added, “You have your come-to-Jesus moment. Of course, after the fact, you can’t believe what has happened. You can’t believe you were part of it and did it.”
All of Hunt’s legal avenues were denied. On Tuesday evening, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey released a statement shortly after the Department of Corrections announced Hunt’s death at 6:26 p.m.
“Tonight, the state carried out the lawfully imposed punishment for Gregory Hunt who is undeniably guilty,” she wrote. “And after his last-minute attempts to evade justice, he has faced the consequences of his evil crimes against Karen Lane, actions he has admitted to, even in a letter to the victim’s heartbroken father.”
Media witnesses described a scene: Hunt gasped, moaned, and lifted his head and feet during the nitrogen gas execution, which began just before 6 p.m. Long pauses marked his breathing before it eventually stopped.
Lane’s family released a statement afterward, saying the night was not about Hunt or closure, but about Karen and what she went through. “Karen was shown no mercy, she was not given a second chance,” the family said. “Karen was shown no grace.”
They ended the statement with a quote engraved on Lane’s headstone by her mother, Betty Sanders: “Crime will not decrease until being a criminal becomes more dangerous than being a victim.”
Alabama has executed Gregory Hunt. Death was pronounced at 6:26 p.m. Central. @PHADP @AlabamaArise @eji_org #deathpenalty pic.twitter.com/wZ8uPgg9GG
— Robert Dunham (@RDunhamDP) June 10, 2025
Despite calls from anti-death penalty advocates to halt the execution, Alabama moved forward. “Greg Hunt has spent his life in prison introducing his fellow prisoners to the teachings of Jesus,” said advocate Hood in a statement.
“Based on the ravenous need for vengeance and continued executions, it’s pretty clear to me that Greg and his fellow prisoners know much more about the teachings of Jesus than the State of Alabama does.”
