Louisiana death row inmate asks for last-minute court ruling to halt nitrogen gas execution

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — On the time that Louisiana's archetypal execution successful 15 years is scheduled to instrumentality place, attorneys for the inmate are hoping for a last-minute tribunal ruling to halt the decease punishment from being carried out.

Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, is scheduled to beryllium enactment to decease Tuesday evening utilizing nitrogen gas, which would beryllium the archetypal clip Louisiana has ever utilized the method. Nitrogen state has been utilized conscionable 4 different times to execute a idiosyncratic connected decease enactment successful the United States, each successful Alabama — which is the lone different authorities wherever determination is simply a protocol for the circumstantial method.

Hoffman's attorneys accidental the method is unconstitutional, violating the Eighth Amendment that prohibits cruel and antithetic punishment. They besides accidental that it infringes connected Hoffman's state to signifier religion, specifically his Buddhist breathing and meditation successful the moments starring up to his death.

Louisiana officials accidental that it is past clip for the authorities to present justness that was promised to the families of the victims, aft a decennary and a fractional hiatus connected executions. Attorney General Liz Murrill says that she expects astatine slightest 4 radical connected Louisiana's decease enactment to beryllium executed this year.

Following tribunal battles earlier this month, attorneys for Hoffman are turning to the United States Supreme Court to halt the execution. However, past twelvemonth the tribunal declined to intervene successful the nation's archetypal nitrogen hypoxia decease enactment execution.

On Monday, Hoffman's attorneys filed a slew of further challenges successful authorities and national courts arsenic a last-ditch effort to halt the execution. A authorities justice volition see 1 of the caller challenges connected Tuesday morning. But with the proceeding taking spot conscionable hours earlier Hoffman is scheduled to beryllium enactment to death, attorneys volition look a contention against the clock.

The 19th Judicial District Court justice issued a impermanent restraining bid — preventing the authorities from executing Hoffman — “pending” a greeting hearing. Attorneys for Hoffman and the authorities accidental their knowing is that the restraining order, arsenic it stands, expires astatine 10:30 a.m. (EST). However the execution is scheduled to hap successful the evening, hours aft the bid expires.

Murrill said that she expects the execution to spell guardant arsenic planned and that “justice volition yet beryllium served.” Hoffman was convicted of the 1996 execution of Mary “Molly” Elliott, a 28-year-old advertizing executive, successful New Orleans.

Under Louisiana protocol, which is astir identical to Alabama's, Hoffman volition beryllium strapped to a gurney and person a full-face respirator disguise — akin to what is utilized by painters and sandblasters — fitted tightly connected him. Pure nitrogen state volition past beryllium pumped into the mask, forcing him to respire it successful and depriving him of the oxygen needed to support bodily functions.

The nitrogen state volition beryllium administered for astatine slightest 15 minutes oregon 5 minutes aft his bosom complaint reaches a flatline denotation connected the EKG, whichever is longer.

The authorities has maintained that the method is seemingly painless. Hoffman's attorneys reason that the method is torturous.

Each inmate enactment to decease utilizing nitrogen successful Alabama has appeared to shingle and gasp to varying degrees during their executions, according to media witnesses, including AP. The reactions are involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation, authorities officials person said.

Currently, 4 states — Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma — specifically authorize execution by nitrogen hypoxia, according to records compiled by the Death Penalty Information Center.

Alabama archetypal utilized the lethal state to enactment Kenneth Eugene Smith to decease past year, marking the archetypal clip a caller method had been utilized successful the U.S. since lethal injection was introduced successful 1982.

In an effort to resume executions, Louisiana's GOP-dominated Legislature expanded the state’s approved decease punishment methods past twelvemonth to see nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution. Already successful spot was lethal injection.

Over caller decades, the fig of executions nationally has declined sharply amid ineligible battles, a shortage of lethal injection drugs and waning nationalist enactment for superior punishment. That has led a bulk of states to either abolish oregon intermission carrying retired the decease penalty.

Hoffman is scheduled to beryllium the seventh decease enactment execution successful the state this year.