A convicted serial rapist and murderer was executed by nitrogen gas in Alabama, marking the fourth instance of this contentious execution method being utilized in the southern US state.
Demetrius Frazier, aged 52, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1991 killing of 40-year-old Pauline Brown, a mother of two, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Frazier was found guilty of entering Ms. Brown’s apartment, assaulting her, and fatally shooting her. The jury recommended the death penalty with a vote of 10-2.
As per court documents, Frazier, who is African American, claimed that the predominantly white jury displayed racial bias during his trial.
Michigan does not implement the death penalty, and Frazier was serving a life sentence in that state for the murder of Kendrick and for two separate rape convictions.
He was transferred to Alabama in 2011, and his requests to return to Michigan to complete his life sentence were denied.
His appeals arguing that the nitrogen gas execution method constitutes cruel and unusual punishment were also dismissed.
Frazier was executed at a prison in Atmore, Alabama, yesterday evening, with the Alabama Department of Corrections confirming he was pronounced dead at 6:36 PM local time.
Last year, Alabama conducted three executions via nitrogen asphyxiation and remains the only US state currently employing this method, while other states utilize lethal injection.
Experts from the United Nations, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, have criticized the use of nitrogen gas, asserting that it “may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or even torture.”
There were 25 executions carried out in the United States last year.
The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the nation’s 50 states, while three others—California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania—are currently under moratoriums.
Additionally, three states—Arizona, Ohio, and Tennessee—that had paused executions have recently indicated plans to resume them.
President Donald Trump supports capital punishment and, on his first day in office, advocated for its expansion “for the vilest crimes.”
