ATMORE, ALA – Demetrius Terrence Frazier, a Michigan man on Alabama death row, became the first person executed while in the custody of Michigan state, according to WVTM 13.
According to WVTM 13, “in early 1992, a then 19-year-old Frazier was arrested in Detroit… where he was ultimately convicted of murder, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and armed robbery. Each charge came with a life sentence, according to court documents.
“While in custody, he made statements referring to his role in the death of an Alabama woman and eventually confessed to the murder of Pauline Brown in Birmingham months prior,” added WVTM.
“Frazier was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury for Brown’s murder in November of 1993. Roughly two years later, Alabama was granted temporary custody of Frazier by the Michigan Department of Corrections so he could stand trial.
“(O)n June 5, 1996, Frazier was convicted of one count of Capital murder and one count of murder. Two days later, the jury recommended the death sentence by a vote of 10-2,” according to WVTM 13.
WVTM reported, “Frazier was soon returned to Michigan where he spent the next 15 years, but an executive agreement signed by then-governors Robert Bentley of Alabama and Rick Snyder of Michigan in 2011 would see him taken back to Alabama.
“Michigan declared the death penalty unconstitutional in 1963, specifically declaring ‘no law shall be enacted providing for the penalty of death.’ Frazier’s attorneys claim that Gov. Snyder acted without lawful authority when signing him over to Alabama.”
The fight did not stop, WVTM 13 states, noting, “Frazier’s attorneys reached out to current Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last November, imploring her to have him extradited back to the state, claiming that Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey would have ‘no choice’ but to turn him over as compliance with the U.S. constitution’s extradition clause is not discretionary.”
However, a staff member for Gov. Whitmer, according to the suit, stated to Frazier’s counsel that Whitmer would not act on the council’s request at this time.
According to WVTM 13, Frazier’s mother pleaded to Gov. Whitmer, stating she has the power to bring her son back and that multiple life sentences for her son is torture enough.
Gladys Bautista of WVTM 13 reported the man’s final words were, “What happened to Pauline Brown should have never happened.” And, “Detroit strong. I love everybody on death row. Let’s go.”
Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm, added WVTM, said the gas “flowed for about 18 minutes. Instruments indicated that Frazier no longer had a heartbeat 13 minutes after the gas started…Frazier was the state’s first execution of the year and its fourth using nitrogen hypoxia.”
“Attorneys for Frazier previously sued to block the state from carrying out his execution unless the state made changes to the protocol. His lawyers argued that nitrogen gas causes ‘conscious suffocation’ and that earlier nitrogen executions did not result in swift unconsciousness and death.
“Prior to his death, Frazier’s lawyers argued he actually belonged in Michigan, but the state’s Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, took no action despite numerous pleas from family members and activists alike,” wrote WVTM.
