Convicted murderer becomes Louisiana's first nitrogen gas execution after appeal denied

A Louisiana decease enactment inmate connected Tuesday was executed with nitrogen gas, a method that has ne'er been utilized earlier successful the state. 

"Louisiana has officially executed Jessie Hoffman, carrying retired the state's archetypal nitrogen state execution, his attorneys corroborate for us," Andrea Gallo, a newsman for Nola News, shared successful a station connected X.

Hoffman, 46, was convicted successful 1996 of the kidnapping, rape, and execution of 28-year-old advertizing executive, Mary "Molly" Elliott.

Elliott was abducted by Hoffman, who was 18 astatine the time, from her location the time earlier Thanksgiving and changeable execution-style successful agrarian St. Tammany Parish.

Shortly earlier Hoffman was scheduled to beryllium enactment to death, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-ditch petition to artifact the execution. 

Hoffman's attorney, Cecelia Kappel, antecedently and unsuccessfully argued successful a authorities entreaty that executing the convicted murderer by mode of nitrogen state was unconstitutional and would interruption his spiritual freedom

"It’s conscious suffocation," Kappel told WVUE. "It’s having a pillow implicit your face. It’s similar drowning." 

The entreaty stated that since Hoffman is simply a Buddhist, his breathing and meditation practices would beryllium disrupted by the execution process.

"He has proposed, ‘Kill maine with a firing squad,’" Kappel said. "‘At slightest then, I’ll beryllium capable to respire aerial astatine the clip of my death.’ And the authorities has said no."

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Hoffman, 46, was convicted successful the 1996 kidnapping, rape, and execution of Mary Elliott, a 28-year-old advertizing executive. (Caroline Tillman/Federal Public Defender's Office For the Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana via AP)

Louisiana officials accidental that the method, which deprives a idiosyncratic of oxygen, is painless, declaring that it is past clip for the authorities to present justness promised to victims’ families aft a decade-and-a-half hiatus — a intermission brought astir partially by an inability to unafraid lethal injection drugs, the Associated Press reported. 

Hoffman was granted a impermanent reprieve by a national judge, but it was overturned Friday by the Fifth Circuit courts and further attempts to halt the state’s execution were besides rejected Tuesday morning.

The interior of an execution chamber.  (AP/Chuck Robinson)

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the court's determination volition assistance bring justness for Elliott.

"BREAKING: Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturns injunction successful Hoffman case. Convicted slayer and rapist volition beryllium brought to justness connected Tuesday," Murrill wrote successful a station connected X.

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"This is justness for Mary "Molly" Elliott, her friends, her family, and for Louisiana."

Murrill added that she expects astatine slightest 4 radical connected Louisiana’s decease enactment to beryllium executed this year.

Hoffman is acceptable to go the seventh idiosyncratic executed successful the U.S. successful 2025 and the archetypal successful Louisiana since 2010.

SOUTH CAROLINA DEATH ROW INMATE CHOOSES FIRING SQUAD AS EXECUTION METHOD

A Louisiana authorities emblem flies astatine the entranceway to the Louisiana State Penitentiary successful Angola, La., connected Tuesday, wherever convicted slayer Jessie Hoffman Jr., was enactment to death. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

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Death by nitrogen state is presently allowed successful lone 4 states, including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma. However, the method has lone been utilized successful Alabama.  

Over caller decades, the fig of executions nationally has declined sharply amid ineligible battles, according to the AP, which has led a bulk of states to either abolish oregon intermission carrying retired the decease penalty.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price is simply a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, homicides, nationalist transgression cases, amerciable immigration, and more. Story tips and ideas tin beryllium sent to [email protected]