With just days until his scheduled execution in Alabama, attorneys for a Detroit native are urging Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to demand his return, arguing that the state has both the legal right and obligation to bring him back.
In a last-minute plea for clemency sent to Whitmer on Friday, attorney Spencer Hahn laid out the constitutional and legal grounds for returning Demetrius Frazier to Michigan, arguing that he remains in the legal custody of the state, despite being transferred to Alabama under a secretive agreement by then-Gov. Rick Snyder.
“Michigan has priority of custody over Mr. Frazier,” Hahn wrote in the five-page letter obtained by Metro Times.
Hahn argues that Whitmer has the authority to order his return to Michigan before he is executed in Alabama on Feb. 6. Alabama officials plan to put Frazier to death using nitrogen hypoxia, a controversial method that critics have called inhumane and painful.
Michigan abolished capital punishment in 1847.
Frazier, now 52, was convicted in Wayne County in 1992 of murder, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and armed robbery, receiving three life sentences. While serving time in Michigan, he confessed to a 1991 murder in Alabama.
In 1995, he was temporarily extradited to Alabama for trial, convicted of capital murder, and sentenced to death. But in 1996, Frazier was returned to Michigan, where his original life sentences remained in effect.
That changed in 2011, when Snyder quietly approved an executive agreement with Alabama’s governor, allowing Frazier to be permanently transferred to Alabama without public notice or court oversight.
Hahn argues the transfer violated Michigan law, which requires prisoners to serve their sentences in-state. He says Whitmer can correct this mistake by invoking the Extradition Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“You have the absolute authority to demand Mr. Frazier’s return,” Hahn wrote to Whitmer, adding that Alabama would be legally obligated to comply.
Earlier this week, Frazier’s mother Carol Frazier sent an emotional letter to Whitmer, urging her to intervene before her son is executed.
“I love my son with all of my heart,” Frazier wrote. “I know that the crime he committed was terrible, and I know another mother lost her daughter. I am so sorry for her and their family and friends. I know this doesn’t bring her back.”
Frazier said her son is remorseful, has repented, and knows he’ll never be free.
“Please do not let Alabama put him to death,” Frazier pleaded. “I have been told that if you demand that Alabama return him, there is a very good chance they would have to. Alabama suffocates their prisoners now. A lot of people have spoke out to say this is wrong.”
Hahn says governors have the power to recall prisoners transferred out of state, especially when they still have active sentences in their home state.
He pointed to a similar case involving Clarence Ray Jr., a Michigan prisoner sentenced to life in prison without parole. When California sought his extradition for execution, Michigan refused, citing its anti-death penalty stance.
Hahn argues Frazier’s situation is no different and that Whitmer should act before it’s too late.
“There is no principled distinction between the circumstances of Messrs. Frazier and Ray: both were convicted of Michigan murders first, received life sentences, and were temporarily transferred to death penalty states, under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers, for trial before being returned to finish serving their first Michigan sentences,” Hahn writes.
Despite growing pressure, Whitmer has not commented on the case. Her office has not responded to multiple requests for comment from Metro Times, dating back to Jan. 23.
With less than a week before the scheduled execution, opponents of the death penalty say time is running out for Whitmer to act.
Carol Frazier hopes she does.
“Please bring my son back to Michigan,” she wrote to Whitmer. “Please don’t let Alabama kill my son if you can stop it.”
