Louisiana Executes Inmate Using Nitrogen Inhalation Method

A death row inmate in Louisiana was executed on Tuesday using nitrogen inhalation, a method previously utilized only in neighboring Alabama and characterized by United Nations experts as akin to torture.

This execution marked the first in Louisiana in 15 years, with 46-year-old Jessie Hoffman facing the death penalty after being convicted for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Mary “Molly” Elliot back in 1996.

While two of Hoffman’s attorneys released statements to local news outlets confirming the execution, state officials had not immediately validated this information.

“The State managed to carry out his execution by implementing a new protocol and scheduling execution dates that sidestep thorough judicial review, keeping the entire process under wraps,” stated Cecelia Kappel, one of the attorneys representing Hoffman.

This week, three additional executions are set to occur across the United States, with one planned for Wednesday in Arizona and two others on Thursday in Florida and Oklahoma.

All three inmates will receive lethal injections.

So far this year, six other executions have been completed in the country, primarily through lethal injection. However, there was one execution in Alabama via nitrogen inhalation and another in South Carolina by firing squad.

Hoffman’s legal team had appealed all the way to the Supreme Court for a stay of his execution, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.

The execution of Kenneth Smith in Alabama on January 25, 2024, was the world’s first application of nitrogen inhalation as a method of execution, sparking considerable public outcry.

Since then, three additional nitrogen inhalation executions have been conducted in Alabama.

Currently, the death penalty is abolished in 23 states across the United States, while six others—Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee—are under a moratorium on executions.