In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, attorneys for a death row inmate are hoping to secure a last-minute reprieve from the scheduled execution, which would mark Louisiana’s first in 15 years. The inmate, Jessie Hoffman Jr., aged 46, is slated to be executed on Tuesday evening using nitrogen gas—a method never before used in Louisiana. This execution will be only the fifth instance of nitrogen gas being used for capital punishment in the United States, with all previous cases occurring in Alabama, the sole other state with established procedures for this method.
Hoffman’s legal team contends that this form of execution breaches the Eighth Amendment due to its potential for cruel and unusual punishment. Additionally, they argue it infringes upon Hoffman’s religious rights, particularly his Buddhist practices of breathing and meditation, important to him in his final moments. Meanwhile, Louisiana authorities insist it is time to deliver justice, especially after a lengthy pause in executions. Attorney General Liz Murrill anticipates that at least four more individuals on death row will face execution this year.
Following extensive court proceedings in earlier weeks, Hoffman’s lawyers now look to the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and prevent the execution. However, the court previously refrained from interfering in the nation’s inaugural nitrogen hypoxia execution last year. On the preceding Monday, Hoffman’s defense team presented numerous challenges in both state and federal courts, seeking a delay. A state judge will hear one such challenge on the morning of the scheduled execution day, adding pressure to the defense.
The 19th Judicial District Court judge has issued a temporary restraining order, delaying the execution “pending” a hearing that morning. The order is understood to expire at 10:30 a.m. EST, mere hours before the evening execution, pressing the legal team to race against time. Despite these hurdles, Murrill maintains that the process will proceed, marking a significant moment for those seeking closure.
Hoffman received the death penalty for the 1996 murder of Mary “Molly” Elliott, a New Orleans advertising executive. Under the protocol, which mirrors Alabama’s closely, Hoffman would be secured to a gurney and have a tight-fitting full-face respirator mask—a device akin to those used by painters—placed over his face. The administration of pure nitrogen gas would then follow, leading to oxygen deprivation and subsequent bodily shutdown.
The nitrogen would be supplied for at least 15 minutes or until five minutes post a flatline heart rate on the EKG, whichever is longer. Proponents claim the method is painless, yet Hoffman’s defense describes it as inhumane. During past executions in Alabama, witnesses reported involuntary shaking and gasping, attributed to oxygen deprivation, a defense also upheld by state officials.
As of now, four U.S. states—Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma—have statutes permitting nitrogen hypoxia for executions, per data from the Death Penalty Information Center. Alabama first utilized this method last year with Kenneth Eugene Smith, pioneering a new execution form since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982.
Louisiana recently expanded its death penalty options, introducing nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution, in addition to the established lethal injection, as a measure to resume executions. Nationwide, execution rates have fallen, paralleling legal challenges, shortages in lethal injection drugs, and declining public support. This has seen many states reevaluate or suspend the death penalty. Should the execution proceed, Hoffman will be the seventh person executed in the U.S. this year.
