Thu Feb 06 06:27:50 UTC 2025: **Alabama Executes Man Convicted of 1991 Murder Using Nitrogen Gas**
**Montgomery, AL —** Demetrius Terrence Frazier, 52, was executed by the state of Alabama on Thursday, February 6th, 2025, becoming the fourth person in the nation to be put to death using nitrogen gas. Frazier was convicted of the 1991 rape and murder of 41-year-old Pauline Brown in Birmingham.
The execution marks Alabama’s first use of nitrogen gas in 2025 and the third execution nationwide this year. Alabama pioneered the use of nitrogen gas executions in 2024. Frazier’s execution proceeded without pending court appeals, though his mother and anti-death penalty advocates appealed to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to intervene. Frazier had previously served a life sentence in Michigan for the murder of a 14-year-old girl. However, Michigan declined to reclaim him, stating they would not interfere with Alabama’s legal proceedings.
Frazier’s attorneys unsuccessfully challenged the execution method, arguing its effectiveness. While previous executions using nitrogen gas reportedly showed signs of distress in the condemned, a judge ruled these did not constitute excessive suffering beyond that inherent in any execution. The prosecution detailed Frazier’s 1991 break-in, rape, and murder of Brown, supported by Frazier’s own confession in 1992.
The case highlights the ongoing debate surrounding capital punishment and the use of novel execution methods in the United States.
First Piper 