Democratic Governor Says ‘Unfortunate’ That Convicted Murderer And Rapist Getting Death Penalty

Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said it’s “unfortunate” that Alabama is set to execute a Detroit native sentenced for murder and rape.

Whitmer said that the impending execution of Demetrius Frazier is “out of her hands,” just hours before Alabama was scheduled to carry out the sentence. Frazier, a 52-year-old Detroit native, was set to face the death penalty for the 1991 rape and murder of 41-year-old Pauline Brown in Birmingham, Ala.

“It’s in the hands of Kay Ivey,” Whitmer told the reporters.

Frazier, then 19, was convicted of murdering Brown after he broke into her apartment, raped her at gunpoint, and fatally shot her. Prosecutors detailed that he demanded and received $80 from her, shot her in the head, and later returned to the apartment to search for more money and have a snack. His criminal record also includes the 1992 murder of 14-year-old Crystal Kendrick in Michigan, whom he tried to rape and then killed.

With his execution set for 7 p.m. ET, the Alabama Department of Corrections confirmed this would mark the state’s first use of the death penalty this year and the third in the United States in 2025. This execution will also be notable as part of Alabama’s recent adoption of nitrogen gas as a method of execution.

In a court filing from January, the Michigan Attorney General’s office said that Michigan did not want Frazier’s return. “While Michigan takes no position on the imposition of the death penalty in this case, Michigan does not seek to return Frazier to a Michigan correctional facility,” state attorneys wrote.