Washington: Demetrius Frazier, a convicted serial rapist and murderer, is scheduled to be executed in Alabama on Thursday. 

The execution is set for 6:00 pm Central Time (0000 GMT) at a prison in Atmore, Alabama. The process will involve pumping nitrogen gas into a facemask, leading to suffocation. Alabama has already carried out three executions by this method last year.

United Nations experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council have denounced the use of nitrogen gas, saying it "may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture."

The charges against Frazier

Frazier, 52, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1991 murder of 40-year-old Pauline Brown in Birmingham, Alabama. Brown, a mother of two, was raped and shot in the head inside her apartment. A jury voted 10-2 in favour of the death penalty. Frazier was also convicted in Michigan for rape and the 1992 murder of 14-year-old Crystal Kendrick. However, Michigan, which does not have the death penalty, had sentenced him to life imprisonment. He was transferred to Alabama in 2011 and appeals seeking to have him sent back to Michigan to serve his life sentence have been rejected.

The crime and conviction

Frazier’s violent history includes the brutal assault and murder of Pauline Brown. He broke into her home, raped her, and shot her in the head. A jury's recommendation of the death penalty supported his conviction. During his trial, Frazier accused the predominantly white jury of racial bias.

Despite several appeals, including claims that nitrogen asphyxiation is a cruel and unusual punishment, his legal challenges have been denied.

Alabama is currently the only state in the U.S. using nitrogen gas for executions. Other states rely on lethal injection. The United Nations has condemned nitrogen asphyxiation, stating it may be considered cruel and inhumane.

There were 25 executions in the United States last year.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others -- California, Oregon and Pennsylvania -- have moratoriums in place.

Three states -- Arizona, Ohio and Tennessee -- that had paused executions have recently announced plans to resume them.

President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and on his first day in the White House he called for an expansion of its use "for the vilest crimes."
(AFP inputs)