Demetrius Terrence Frazier, 52, is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening in Alabama for the 1991 murder of 41-year-old Pauline Brown. Frazier was convicted of breaking into Brown's Birmingham apartment, raping her, and fatally shooting her.
If the execution proceeds, it will mark the nation's fourth use of nitrogen gas for capital punishment. Alabama introduced this method last year, with Frazier potentially becoming the first inmate to be executed using nitrogen gas in the state this year.
Frazier's advocates made a plea to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to intervene and prevent the execution, citing his alleged repentance and change. However, Michigan officials declined to bring Frazier back to their state, where he was serving a life sentence for a separate murder.
Frazier's criminal history includes convictions for murders in both Alabama and Michigan, with the Michigan case preceding the Alabama conviction. In the 1991 incident, Frazier broke into Brown's apartment, demanded money, raped her at gunpoint, and ultimately shot her in the head before returning to the scene later.
Despite arguments from Frazier's legal team that the nitrogen gas method may not work as swiftly as promised, a federal judge recently denied a request to halt the execution. The judge determined that prior executions using this method did not result in excessive psychological pain or distress beyond what is typical in such procedures.
With no pending court appeals, Frazier's execution is poised to proceed as scheduled, pending any last-minute developments.
