US state carries out first nitrogen gas execution after court appeals

Louisiana recently executed a man convicted of murder years ago using nitrogen gas, marking the state's first use of this method after a 15-year hiatus on executions. This action signals the resumption of capital punishment in Louisiana and introduces a novel means of carrying out the death penalty. The state hopes this new method will prove more reliable and humane than previous attempts.

According to authorities, 46-year-old Jessie Hoffman Jr. was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. (10:50 a.m. AEST) at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. An official stated that the nitrogen gas flowed continuously for 19 minutes during the "flawless" execution. The execution process was closely monitored to ensure adherence to protocol and minimize any potential complications.

Hoffman was convicted of murdering 28-year-old advertising executive Mary "Molly" Elliott in New Orleans, a crime he committed when he was 18 years old. Prior to this, nitrogen gas had only been used four times for executions in the United States, all in Alabama. Three other executions are scheduled this week, all by lethal injection, in Arizona on Wednesday, Florida on Thursday, and Oklahoma.

Following court challenges earlier this month, Hoffman's lawyers turned to the Supreme Court in hopes of halting the execution. Last year, the Supreme Court declined to intervene in Alabama's first nitrogen hypoxia execution. Hoffman's attorneys argued that the nitrogen execution method violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. They also asserted that it infringed upon Hoffman's religious freedom, specifically his Buddhist breathing and meditation practices in his final moments.

However, Louisiana officials maintained that this method of oxygen deprivation is painless. They also stated that it was time for the state to fulfill its promise to deliver justice for the victim's family, following a 15-year interruption in executions due to the unavailability of lethal injection drugs. The Supreme Court voted 5-4 to reject intervention. Attorney General Liz Murrill said she anticipates at least four death row inmates will be executed in Louisiana this year, stating that Hoffman's execution "finally delivers justice."

Throughout the week, Hoffman's lawyers filed multiple challenges in state and federal courts in an attempt to spare him from execution. At a hearing on Tuesday morning, 19th Judicial District Court Judge Richard "Chip" Moore also declined to block the execution. According to local news outlets, he agreed with the state's attorneys that Hoffman's religious-based arguments fell under the jurisdiction of federal judges, who had already ruled on the matter.

Under Louisiana's protocol, which closely mirrors Alabama's, Hoffman was strapped to a gurney and fitted with a respirator mask that sealed tightly to his face. Pure nitrogen gas was then pumped into the mask, forcing him to inhale it and depriving him of the oxygen necessary to sustain bodily functions. The nitrogen was administered for a minimum of 15 minutes, or for 5 minutes after his heart rate reached a flatline indication on an EKG, whichever was longer.

According to media reporters, including those from the Associated Press, each inmate executed using nitrogen gas in Alabama experienced varying degrees of shaking and gasping during the procedure. State officials have stated that these reactions are involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation. Alabama first used this lethal gas last year to execute Kenneth Eugene Smith, marking the first time in the United States that a new method of execution had been used since lethal injection was introduced in 1982.

Records compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center show that four states – Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma – specifically authorize the use of nitrogen hypoxia for executions. On Tuesday, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill allowing the use of nitrogen gas for executions, making Arkansas the fifth state to adopt this method. Arkansas currently has 25 inmates on death row.

In an effort to resume capital punishment, Louisiana's Republican-controlled legislature expanded the state's approved methods of execution last year to include nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution. Lethal injection was already in place. In recent decades, the number of executions nationwide has sharply declined due to legal challenges, shortages of lethal injection drugs, and waning public support for the death penalty. This has led most states to either abolish the death penalty or place a moratorium on executions.

On Tuesday afternoon, a small group of death penalty opponents held a vigil outside the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, a rural southeastern part of the state where all of the state's executions take place. Some distributed prayer cards featuring a smiling photo of Hoffman and planned to conduct Buddhist chants and "peaceful meditation." The vigil served as a solemn reminder of the ongoing debate surrounding capital punishment.