Alabama executes Demetrius Terrence Frazier for 1991 rape and murder of Pauline Brown

by Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector
February 6, 2025

The state of Alabama executed Demetrius Terrence Frazier by nitrogen gas Thursday evening  for the rape and murder of Pauline Brown in Birmingham in 1991.

Frazier, 52, the fourth person the state has executed by nitrogen gas, was pronounced dead at 6:36 p.m., according to Gov. Kay Ivey’s office.

“First of all, I want to apologize to the friends and family of Pauline Brown, what happened to her should never have happened,” Frazier said when he made his final statement. “I want to apologize to the Black community.”

Frazier also criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for not intervening in his case. Frazier was transferred to Alabama in 2011 while serving a life sentence in Michigan for the 1992 murder of Crystal Kendrick, 14. His legal team had urged Whitmer to take custody of his case and have him transferred back to the state for the crimes he committed in Michigan. Whitmer did not intervene.

A member of the Corrections staff adjusted Frazier’s mask at about 6:10 p.m. and the nitrogen gas began to flow a few minutes afterward. Media witnesses reported that Frazier struggled to breathe for several minutes during the execution.

At one point in the execution, Frazier lifted his legs and his body twitched, according to media witnesses. That is similar to what other witnesses observed from the three other executions that the state carried out using nitrogen gas.

Witnesses said that they observed Frazier take his final breath at about 6:20 p.m.

“It went according to plan like our protocol says,” ADOC Commissioner John Hamm said at a news conference following the execution.

The state executed Kenneth Eugene Smith by nitrogen gas in January 2024. Alan Eugene Miller was put to death under the method in September. Carey Dale Grayson followed in November.

“In Alabama, we enforce the law,” Ivey said in a statement Thursday evening. “You don’t come to our state and mess with our citizens and get away with it.”

The governor said that justice was carried out on behalf of Brown and her loved ones.

“I pray for her family that all these years later, they can continue healing and have assurance that Demetrius Frazier cannot harm anyone else,” Ivey said.

Frazier was convicted of Kendrick’s death in 1993 and sentenced to life in prison. An Alabama  jury convicted Frazier of capital murder in 1996 and recommended he be put to death by a vote of 10-2. While arguing that Frazier should be returned to Michigan, Frazier’s legal team also argued the nitrogen gas protocol violated Frazier’s Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment, citing the distress that media witnesses reported among the men who had previously been subjected to it.

The federal courts rejected both arguments. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said they would not ask for Frazier to be returned to their state.

Frazier’s family and supporters petitioned Whitmer to intervene. Frazier’s mother Carol penned a letter that requested Whitmer get involved, and a petition collected more than 4,000 signatures.

“We are disappointed that Michigan chose to ignore requests to intercede, to ignore its own history, and failed to have Mr. Frazier returned to Michigan to complete his life sentences,” Frazier’s legal team said in a statement after Frazier’s execution Thursday. “We are disappointed that Gov. Ivey has not granted clemency, especially under these uniquely unfair and painful circumstances.  Martin Luther King, Jr. said ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ Tonight, we grieve for everyone.”

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