Key Takeaways:

• Demetrius Terrence Frazier, set for execution on February 6, challenges nitrogen gas execution methods.
• His attorneys argue prior executions displayed signs of suffering due to suffocation.
• The court filing requests changes in execution protocols, including administering a sedative beforehand.
• Witnesses reported disturbing observations during past executions with nitrogen gas.
• The Alabama attorney general has yet to respond to Frazier's legal challenges.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Attorneys for Demetrius Terrence Frazier, an Alabama inmate scheduled to be executed using nitrogen gas, filed a request with a federal judge seeking to block the execution. Scheduled for February 6, Frazier faces capital punishment for the 1991 murder and rape of Pauline Brown. His legal team argues that earlier executions conducted with nitrogen gas indicated severe signs of suffering and suffocation.

In a recent court filing, Frazier's attorneys pointed to witness accounts from the state’s initial executions utilizing nitrogen gas, which was first implemented last year. They noted descriptions of inmates exhibiting distress during their executions while gas was administered through a respirator mask, substituting breathable air with pure nitrogen, leading to fatal asphyxiation. "The data set for nitrogen hypoxia executions is small — three — but provides clear results: Alabama’s method does not work the way defendants claim and necessarily causes conscious suffocation, in violation of the Eighth Amendment,” the filing states.

Witnesses, including staff from major news organizations, reported that the executed men convulsed on the gurney and experienced labored breathing, creating significant concerns about the humane nature of this execution method. Frazier's attorneys have requested that the court block the execution unless the state alters its protocols, specifically suggesting the administration of a sedative prior to the use of nitrogen gas.

The Alabama attorney general's office has not issued a response to this request but previously sought the dismissal of Frazier’s lawsuit over the execution process. They argued that the movements observed were not indicative of suffering; rather, they could stem from other causes, including voluntary resistance or involuntary reactions associated with dying.

While lethal injection remains Alabama's primary execution method, the state authorized the use of nitrogen gas for executions in 2018. This followed a brief window during which inmates could choose their preferred execution method. At the time, Frazier selected nitrogen gas, although the necessary procedures were still being developed for its implementation.

Convicted of the brutal murder and robbery of Brown, Frazier confessed to the act while in police custody on an unrelated charge. A jury had sentenced him to death with a 10-2 vote. As legal battles are set to continue leading up to the potentially historic execution, Frazier’s case raises significant questions about humane treatment in capital punishment in Alabama. For further details, refer to the original [AP News](https://apnews.com/article/execution-death-penalty-alabama-nitrogen-gas-263310bbadaad4ac4f92a4ea3a79dc18) and [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/15/alabama-prisoner-nitrogen-gas-execution).