With just a few days until his scheduled execution in Alabama, attorneys for a Detroit native are pressing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to demand his return, claiming that the state has both the legal authority and obligation to do so.
In a last-minute clemency plea sent to Whitmer on Friday, attorney Spencer Hahn laid out the constitutional and legal grounds for returning Demetrius Frazier to Michigan, arguing that despite being transferred to Alabama under a secret agreement by then-Gov. Rick Snyder, he remains in the state’s legal custody.
“Michigan has priority of custody over Mr. Frazier,” Hahn wrote in the five-page letter obtained by Metro Times.
Hahn asserts that Whitmer possesses the authority to compel his return to Michigan prior to his execution in Alabama on February 6. Alabama officials intend to execute Hahn by nitrogen hypoxia, a contentious process that critics have labeled barbaric and torturous.
In 1847, Michigan banned capital punishment.
In 1992, Wayne County sentenced 52-year-old Frazier to three life terms for his convictions of murder, first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and armed robbery. While incarcerated in Michigan, he confessed to a 1991 Alabama murder.
In 1995, prosecutors temporarily extradited him to Alabama, found him guilty of capital murder, and sentenced him to death. However, Frazier was repatriated to Michigan in 1996, where his original life sentences were still in place.
That all changed in 2011, when Snyder discreetly approved an executive agreement with Alabama’s governor, allowing Frazier to be permanently relocated to Alabama without public notice or court scrutiny.
Hahn claims the transfer violated Michigan law, which compels offenders to fulfill their terms in-state. He believes Whitmer may fix this error by using the Extradition Clause of the United States 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.
Frazier’s mother, Carol Frazier, wrote an emotional letter to Whitmer earlier this week, imploring her to intervene before her son is hanged.
“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 claims her son is sorry, has repented, and understands he will 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.”
According to Hahn, governors have the authority to recall criminals moved out of state, especially if they are still serving current terms in their home state.
He used Clarence Ray Jr., a Michigan prisoner serving a life sentence without parole, as a comparable example. When California demanded his extradition for execution, Michigan declined, citing its opposition to the death penalty.
Hahn contends that Frazier’s predicament is comparable and that Whitmer should act before it is 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 mounting criticism, Whitmer has yet to speak about the situation. Her office has not responded to Metro Times’ several requests for comment since Jan. 23.
With less than a week before the scheduled execution, opponents of the death penalty argue Whitmer has run out of time 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.”