Demetrius Frazier, aged 52, was executed in Alabama for the 1991 murder of Pauline Brown. This marks the fourth execution using nitrogen gas in the United States.
Frazier was pronounced dead at 6:36 p.m. in an Alabama prison. His execution follows a lethal injection in Texas and another execution in South Carolina this year. During his final words, Frazier apologized to Brown’s family and criticized Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer for not intervening after appeals for his return to Michigan were rejected. Michigan, Frazier’s home state, does not have the death penalty. Despite this, Frazier was transferred to Alabama after being sentenced to life for another murder in 1992.
In 1991, Frazier broke into Brown’s apartment in Birmingham. Prosecutors stated he demanded money, raped Brown at gunpoint, and then shot her. After this atrocity, he returned to the scene to have a snack and search for additional money. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey commented post-execution that justice was served, reinforcing the state’s stance against crime.
Initially sentenced to life in Michigan for the murder of a teenage girl, Frazier was later convicted in Alabama, with the jury recommending the death penalty. His transfer to Alabama was agreed upon by the governors of Michigan and Alabama in 2011. Frazier later suggested his confession to the Michigan murder was false.
The execution method involved a gas mask replacing oxygen with nitrogen, leading to death by suffocation. Witnesses noted Frazier’s movements during the execution, although these were interpreted as involuntary. State officials stated the execution was swift, taking about 13 minutes for Frazier to lose his heartbeat after the nitrogen started flowing. The courts had previously denied a bid to halt the execution, despite concerns over the method’s efficacy and potential psychological distress.
Witnesses to the execution included some of Brown’s family members, who chose not to speak publicly. Before his execution, Frazier spent time with his family and had a final meal from Taco Bell.
Alabama has once again employed nitrogen gas in an execution, spurring debate over the method’s use and ethical considerations. Frazier’s execution underscores the complexities and contentious nature of capital punishment in the United States.
