Alabama, USA — The state of Alabama is scheduled to execute Demetrius Frazier, a 52-year-old convicted assassin and rapist, on Thursday, February 6, 2025, utilizing nitrogen gasoline—a technique that has sparked vital controversy.
Frazier was sentenced to demise in 1996 for the 1991 homicide of 40-year-old Pauline Brown in Birmingham, Alabama. He was discovered responsible of breaking into Brown’s house, raping her, and fatally capturing her within the head. The jury really useful the demise penalty with a 10-2 vote.
Previous to this conviction, Frazier had been convicted in Michigan for the 1992 homicide of 14-year-old Crystal Kendrick and two separate rape prices. Michigan, which doesn’t have the demise penalty, sentenced him to life imprisonment. He was transferred to Alabama in 2011 to face prices for Brown’s homicide. Appeals to return him to Michigan and challenges towards the nitrogen gasoline execution methodology have been denied.
The execution is ready to happen at a jail in Atmore, Alabama, at 6:00 pm Central Time. This may mark the fourth time Alabama has used nitrogen asphyxiation, making it the one U.S. state presently using this methodology. The method includes administering nitrogen gasoline via a facemask, resulting in demise by suffocation.
United Nations consultants have criticized using nitrogen gasoline for executions, stating it “could quantity to merciless, inhuman or degrading remedy, and even torture.”
In 2024, there have been 25 executions in america. The demise penalty has been abolished in 23 states, whereas three others—California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania—have moratoriums in place. Just lately, Arizona, Ohio, and Tennessee introduced plans to renew executions after earlier pauses.
The usage of nitrogen gasoline in executions continues to be a contentious concern, elevating moral and authorized debates throughout the nation.
