A federal judge has denied a request to halt the upcoming execution of Demetrius Frazier in Alabama, ruling that he failed to prove nitrogen gas as an execution method is excessively cruel or unconstitutional. Chief District Judge Emily C. Marks stated that Frazier did not meet the high legal standard necessary to block his execution or require sedation beforehand.

Frazier, convicted of the 1991 rape and murder of Pauline Brown, is set to be executed using nitrogen gas, a method Alabama first implemented in 2024. The process involves replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen, leading to death from oxygen deprivation. Frazier’s legal team argued that previous executions using this method resulted in visible signs of distress and prolonged consciousness, contradicting state assurances of a swift and painless death.

Despite witness accounts of inmates shaking and an anesthesiologist’s testimony that one prisoner remained conscious for minutes, Marks ruled that these observations did not prove extreme psychological suffering beyond what is typical in executions. However, she acknowledged that prolonged consciousness during nitrogen inhalation could raise constitutional concerns.

Frazier’s mother has appealed to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to intervene and have him transferred back to Michigan, where he was previously sentenced to life in prison for a separate murder. Whitmer’s office has not commented on the request.