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Federal Judge Blocks Louisiana’s First Nitrogen Gas Execution

Execution of death row inmate Jessie Hoffman Jr., scheduled for March 18, delayed to allow further legal review of the untested method.

The East Pearl River runs high at the border of Mississippi and Slidell, Louisiana, on May 27, 2019. Elliot's body was found along the river on Thanksgiving Day in 1996.
FILE - Death Row building is seen at the Louisiana State Penitentiary Friday, Sept. 18, 2009, in Angola, La. (AP Photo/Judi Bottoni, File)
From left to right counterclockwise, David Leonard Wood and the victims connected to El Paso's Desert Killer case: Desiree Wheatley, Rose Maria Casio, Ivy Susanna Williams, Karen Baker, Melissa Alaniz, Marjorie Knox, Cheryl Vasquez-Dismukes, Dawn Marie Smith and Angelica Frausto. Wood is on death row in Texas for the murder of six of them.

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick issued a preliminary injunction halting Louisiana's first execution using nitrogen hypoxia, citing the need for a thorough legal review.
  • Jessie Hoffman Jr., convicted of a 1996 murder, argued that nitrogen hypoxia violates his constitutional rights and interferes with his Buddhist breathing practices.
  • The state defended nitrogen hypoxia as a painless and lawful method, modeled after Alabama’s use of the technique, but critics raised concerns about its potential for causing suffering.
  • Louisiana’s execution protocol was criticized for lack of transparency, with only a redacted version released to the public before the hearing.
  • Attorney General Liz Murrill plans to appeal the decision, as Louisiana seeks to resume executions after a 15-year hiatus, with over 50 inmates currently on death row.