[A federal judge has refused to stop the execution of Demetrius Frazier, who is set to be put to death using Alabama’s new method of execution by nitrogen gas. Frazier’s attorneys had argued that the method is unconstitutionally cruel and causes psychological terror, but the judge ruled that they had not met the legal standard to receive a preliminary injunction.
Frazier is scheduled to be executed on Thursday for the 1991 rape and murder of Pauline Brown. He is the fourth inmate to be put to death using the new method, which replaces breathable air with pure nitrogen gas to cause death by lack of oxygen.
Frazier’s lawyers pointed to descriptions of the state’s first three nitrogen executions to argue that the method causes conscious suffocation, rather than a swift and painless death. They cited testimony from Dr. Brian McAlary, an anesthesiologist who witnessed the execution of Carey Dale Grayson, who reported seeing evidence of distress in the prisoner and that Grayson appeared conscious for up to three minutes.
However, Chief District Judge Emily C. Marks ruled that these descriptions do not support a finding of severe psychological pain or distress above and beyond what is inherent in any execution. She noted that the state had maintained that the movements of the inmates may have been involuntary or faked.
Despite this, the judge did express concern that depriving an inmate of oxygen while conscious could be unconstitutional, particularly if the inmate remains conscious for an extended period.
Frazier has been on death row for his convictions in both Alabama and Michigan, where he was convicted of the 1992 murder of a 14-year-old girl. His mother has made a last-minute plea to Michigan’s governor to intervene and request that Frazier be returned to Michigan to serve a life sentence instead of being executed in Alabama.
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