Attorneys for Demetrius Terrence Frazier argued first three people executed through gas showed signs of suffocation

Attorneys for an Alabama prisoner scheduled to be the fourth person put to death with nitrogen gas asked a federal judge on Wednesday to block the execution, arguing that the first three people showed signs of suffering from suffocation as the gas flowed.

Demetrius Terrence Frazier, 52, is scheduled to be executed on 6 February for the 1991 murder and rape of Pauline Brown. His attorneys in a court filing asked a judge to block the execution unless the state makes changes to the protocol, such as giving him a sedative before the gas begins flowing. The court filing cited witness descriptions of the state’s first three executions with nitrogen gas.