Louisiana Can Carry Out First Nitrogen Gas Execution, Court Rules - Newsweek

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Louisiana's first execution using nitrogen gas is set to move forward next week after a federal appeals court vacated a preliminary injunction on Friday.

Jessie Hoffman Jr, 46, is scheduled to be executed at the Louisiana State Penitentiary on March 18. He was previously sentenced to death for the 1996 abduction, rape and murder of 28-year-old Mary "Molly" Elliott in New Orleans.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Shelly Dick issued a 29-page preliminary injunction to stop Hoffman from being executed with nitrogen gas, ruling that the method could cause "pain and terror" in condemned inmates.

However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans ruled on Friday that the state could move forward with the execution.

If Hoffman is put to death on Tuesday, it will be the first execution to take place in Louisiana in 15 years and the state's first using nitrogen hypoxia.

Louisiana would become only the second state to use the execution method, after Alabama first used nitrogen hypoxia to put Kenneth Eugene Smith to death last year.

U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday stopping Louisiana from moving forward with Hoffman's execution.

In her ruling, Dick wrote: "The court finds it substantially likely that Hoffman will be able to prove a duration of conscious suffering of 30 to 40 seconds … Thus, the court concludes that Hoffman has clearly demonstrated that he is substantially likely to prevail in his assertion that nitrogen hypoxia superadds pain and terror as compared to firing squad."

Hoffman had requested to be put to death using a "humane" method, specifically asking for death by a firing squad or a drug cocktail typically used for physician-assisted death. The only approved execution methods in Louisiana are nitrogen hypoxia, lethal injection and electrocution.

Hoffman's attorneys alleged nitrogen hypoxia equated to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. They added that the execution method would infringe on his ability to practice his religion of Buddhism, including breathing and meditation exercises.

However on Friday, 5th Circuit Court of Appeals judges James Ho and Andrew Oldham, both appointees of President Donald Trump, ruled to vacate the lower court's preliminary injunction.

Among the reasons for their decision, the judges pointed to Louisiana's argument that Hoffman's requested execution method of a firing squad would be "more painful" than nitrogen hypoxia.

"Reasonable minds can differ on the proper understanding of the Eighth Amendment in certain cases, but surely we can all agree that it does not require state officials to favor more painful methods of execution over less painful ones," the court wrote.

Judge Catharina Haynes, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote a dissent saying the courts need more time for litigation. "Obviously that cannot be done once he (Hoffman) is dead," she wrote.

Under the state's new procedure, Hoffman will be strapped to a gurney and forced to breathe pure nitrogen gas through a full-face respirator mask. The protocol is nearly identical to that of Alabama, which became the first state to use nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution last year.

Cecelia Kappel, an attorney for Hoffman, told Newsweek in a statement: "The Fifth Circuit should have deferred to the district court's assessment of the extensive evidence presented to it, showing that Louisiana's new execution protocol is likely to cause Jessie Hoffman to suffer a prolonged and torturous death.

"Particularly given that the state only announced its new lethal gas protocol and set Jessie's execution date last month, and released the protocol to the public on the eve of the March 7 hearing, the courts should not allow any execution to take place until there has been a thorough adjudication of whether Louisiana's nitrogen gas protocol violates the Eighth Amendment."

Samantha Kennedy, the executive director of the Promise of Justice Initiative organization, said: "In the United States we are protected from government abuse, torture, and cruelty through our Constitution—even when we have caused harm to others, are in prison, or as we die.

"The Fifth Circuit's decision to overturn the District Court's extremely prudent order to take more time to consider the impact of gassing as Louisiana's chosen method of killing people flies in the face of decency and our standards for examining lower court decisions.

"Every time Alabama gassed a person to death, the person writhed violently and convulsed in their last moments on Earth. We will now turn to the United States Supreme Court to stop the execution of Mr. Hoffman until this method of killing can be adequately explored."

However, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill applauded the appeals court's decision, saying the state is long overdue in delivering justice promised to the families of victims: "Convicted killer and rapist will be brought to justice on Tuesday. This is justice for Mary 'Molly' Elliot, her friends, her family, and for Louisiana," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Hoffman's execution is currently scheduled to take place at the Louisiana State Penitentiary on Tuesday, March 18.

Hoffman lawyers have said they plan to immediately take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court with the aim of halting the execution, according to The Associated Press.

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