Louisiana to execute convicted murderer using contested nitrogen method it bans in pet euthanasia cases

Louisiana is planning to carry out its first execution in 15 years using a highly contested nitrogen gassing method that it doesn’t even permit to be used against dying cats and dogs under state law.

Convicted killer Jessie Hoffman, 46, was originally set to be executed via the controversial method on Tuesday night, but that could change depending on the results of a hearing scheduled for the morning. He was sentenced to death in 1996 for the rape and murder of Mary Elliott, an advertising executive.

Death by nitrogen gas has only been used in Alabama previously. Witnesses to the state’s four recorded gassing executions in recent years reported seeing the condemned men writhing on the gurney as they were forced to inhale nothing but nitrogen while still conscious.

Nitrogen gas forces hypoxia, which deprives the body of oxygen and results in a slow suffocation. It’s a widely frowned-upon method of execution — so much so that state legislators ruled it was inhumane to put down pets that way. Under Louisiana state law, nitrogen gassing is banned for the euthanasia of cats and dogs unless they are already unconscious through sedation in agreement with the American Veterinary Medical Association’s ruling.

Most recently, Kenneth Eugene Smith was gassed to death in late January after surviving a lethal injection attempt two years previously. The process took 22 minutes as he continuously thrashed against the restraints while he slowly suffocated to death.

Advocates against the death penalty have continued to try to stop Hoffman’s execution.

He was granted a temporary reprieve by a federal judge, but it was overturned last Friday by the Fifth Circuit courts.

Since the New Year, atypical means of execution have been on the rise. Following Smith’s gassing in late January, South Carolina spearheaded the first death-by-firing squad in the country in 15 years.

Brad Sigmon voluntarily chose to be shot to death over more conventional methods like the electric chair and lethal injection. He was found guilty in 2002 of bludgeoning his ex-girlfriend’s parents to death with a baseball bat.

Before his death, Sigmon quoted four verses in the Bible and concluded that “nowhere does God in the New Testament give man the authority to kill another man.”

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Stephen Collopy

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