Demetrius Frazier, a 52-year-old inmate on Alabama’s death row, was executed using a new method called nitrogen gas suffocation. He was convicted of the 1991 rape and murder of 41-year-old Pauline Brown. Frazier’s execution took place at a prison in South Alabama, where officials placed a gas mask over his face and released the lethal gas. He was pronounced dead at 6:36 p.m., making him the first person executed in Alabama this year and the third in the United States in 2025.
Before his execution, Frazier was given the opportunity to have a final meal. He chose a feast from Taco Bell, which he washed down with a Mountain Dew soft drink. Prison officials revealed that he ate the meal just hours before his scheduled execution.
As the process began, Frazier addressed the victim’s family, apologizing for his actions. He expressed regret, saying that what happened to Pauline Brown should never have occurred. He also shared his final words, sending a message of love to fellow inmates on death row and declaring “Detroit Strong.” Additionally, he criticized Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, saying she had failed to intervene in his case. Frazier had hoped to be sent back to Michigan, where he was originally serving a life sentence before being transferred to Alabama.
During the execution, he was secured to a gurney with a blue-rimmed gas mask covering his face. At 6:10 p.m., a corrections officer checked on him before the execution began. For the first minute, Frazier moved his hands in a circular motion. By 6:12 p.m., he stopped moving his hands and started showing signs of discomfort. Witnesses reported that he grimaced, quivered, and appeared to struggle for breath. He lifted his legs slightly at one point before his breathing became slow and sporadic. By 6:21 p.m., he had no visible movement. The execution chamber curtains were closed at 6:29 p.m.
Frazier’s mother, Carol Frazier, had joined other death penalty opponents in pleading for his life. They urged Governor Whitmer to bring him back to Michigan so he could serve out his life sentence there. Michigan does not have the death penalty, but Alabama had jurisdiction over his case after he confessed to killing Brown while in custody in Michigan. Whitmer stated that the decision to send him to Alabama had been made by the previous governor, Rick Snyder, and was out of her hands.
The crime took place on November 27, 1991, when Frazier, then 19, broke into Brown’s apartment in Birmingham while she was asleep. He demanded money, and after she gave him $80, he raped her at gunpoint. He then shot her in the head and later returned to the apartment to search for more money and have a snack. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey defended the execution, stating that justice had been served. She emphasized that Alabama enforces the law and will not tolerate violent criminals. She expressed sympathy for Brown’s family, stating that her loved ones finally received justice.
