Opponents of the death penalty are urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to intervene and stop the execution of Demetrius Frazier, a Detroit native who was convicted of murder and sexual assault in Michigan before being sent to a prison in Alabama by then-Gov. Rick Snyder.
In an attempt to halt the execution, set for Feb. 6, Frazier’s attorneys recently filed a lawsuit, claiming Snyder acted without legal authority in approving the transfer of Frazier to Alabama.
To execute the 52-year-old, Alabama officials plan to use nitrogen hypoxia, a controversial method that activists and United Nations human rights experts say is painful and humiliating. On Jan. 25, 2024, the state used nitrogen hypoxia, which is inhaled through a mask until suffocation, to put to death Kenneth Smith, who appeared to shake, convulse, writhe, and gasp for air before he was pronounced dead, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Frazier was convicted in Wayne County in 1992 of murder, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and armed robbery. He was sentenced to three life terms. While behind bars in Michigan, Frazier confessed to a murder in Alabama.
In 1996, Alabama temporarily took custody of Frazier to prosecute him, resulting in a conviction for capital murder and a death sentence.
In what opponents say was a “secret” and illegal deal with Alabama, Snyder reached an executive agreement with the state’s governor to transfer Frazier permanently to Alabama’s custody.
The move is significant because Michigan’s constitution prohibits the death penalty. Lawyers for Frazier argue Michigan law requires inmates to serve their sentences in-state and that the executive agreement violates the Interstate Agreement on Detainers and Frazier’s due process rights.
Frazier’s lawyers pleaded with Whitmer in November 2024 to order his return to Michigan, but her office declined to act. If Whitmer intervenes, they argue, Alabama would be constitutionally required to comply under the extradition clause.
“You have a legal duty to preserve, protect, and defend the Michigan Constitution and Mr. Frazier requests you do so,” one of Frazier’s lawyers, Spencer Hahn, wrote to Whitmer.
According to the lawsuit, Whitmer notified Hahn that “she would not act on his request at that time.”
Frazier is listed on the Michigan Department of Corrections’ online database as an active prisoner. But according to the Alabama Department of Corrections’ inmate classification summary, Frazier is an inmate “borrowed from Michigan.”
Supporters of moving Frazier back to Michigan launched a petition drive demanding that Whitmer return him to the state.
“Former Michigan Governor Snyder entered into an unlawful agreement to transfer Mr. Frazier to Alabama and current Michigan Governor Whitmer has done nothing to fix it,” the petition states.
Metro Times reached out to Whitmer’s office for comment and is awaiting a response.
