Alabama death row inmate Demetrius Fraziers final words revealed as hes executed for 1991 murder
A convicted murderer and rapist was executed by nitrogen gas on Thursday — 14 years after he was transferred to Alabama while serving a life sentence in Michigan for a separate murder.Demetrius Frazier became the fourth inmate in the US to be put to death by the method as he served his sentence for the 1991 murder of Pauline Brown at the Holman Correctional Facility.Frazier, 52, was convicted of capital murder for breaking into Pauline Brown’s Birmingham apartment and raping her at gunpoint before killing her when he was 19.In his last moments on Earth, he attempted to atone for his crime of killing Brown.“I want to apologize to the family and friends of Pauline Brown,” he said.
“What happened to her should have never happened.”Frazier also appeared to call out Michigan Gov.Gretchen Whitmer as he waited to be executed, saying, “If you cannot stand up for the constitution of Michigan, how are you going to stand up for the US Constitution when you run for president?” according to the Montgomery Advertiser.His final words were: “Detroit strong.
I love everyone on Death Row.Let’s go.”Frazier’s mask was then closed, and the gas began flowing at 6:13 p.m.
He had no visible movement by about eight minutes later, and the curtains to the execution chamber closed at 6:29 p.m.He was officially pronounced dead at 6:36 p.m.The gas flowed for around 18 minutes, but Frazier flatlined about 13 minutes into the process, according to Alabama Corrections Commissioner John Hamm.
He added that he believed that Frazier quickly lost consciousness after the gas was released.Some of Brown’s family were in attendance for his execution.Alabama Gov.Kay Ivey said in her state, “We enforce the law,” in a post-execution statement.“You don’t come to our state and mess with our citizens and get away with it,” Ivey said.“Rapists and murderers are not welcome on our streets, and tonight, justice was carried out for Pauline Brown and her loved ones.”Before...