Historic first: State uses new approach for capital punishment
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In a move that has reignited the debate over capital punishment in the United States, Louisiana has carried out its first execution in 15 years, employing a method that has only been used a handful of times in the country.
On a somber Tuesday evening, 46-year-old Jessie Hoffman Jr. was put to death, marking a controversial milestone in the state's history and raising questions about the ethics and constitutionality of this execution technique.
Jessie Hoffman Jr. was convicted of the 1996 murder of Mary “Molly” Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive in New Orleans.
His case, like many involving capital punishment, was fraught with appeals and legal challenges that spanned over two decades.
On Monday, Hoffman’s attorneys filed a series of last-minute legal challenges in both state and federal courts in an attempt to halt his execution.
One of these challenges, heard on Tuesday morning by Judge Richard "Chip" Moore of the 19th Judicial District Court, questioned whether the planned execution violated Hoffman’s religious freedom under the Preservation of Religious Freedom Act.
A day earlier, the judge had issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the state from moving forward with the execution until Tuesday morning’s hearing. The order was set to expire at 9:30 am, with the execution scheduled for later that evening.
However, according to CBS News affiliate WAFB, the Baton Rouge judge ultimately refused to block the execution.
Earlier this month, a federal judge temporarily halted Hoffman's execution, issuing a preliminary injunction against the use of nitrogen gas.
However, an appeals court swiftly overturned that ruling, clearing the way for the execution to proceed.
Following Tuesday’s hearing, Hoffman's legal team made one final appeal to the US Supreme Court, which ultimately declined to intervene in a 5-4 vote, according to The Associated Press.
Despite these efforts, the legal system's gears turned towards what Louisiana officials deemed “justice promised to victims' families.”
"It is unfortunate that bad people exist, and they do real bad things. When these acts of violence happen, society must not tolerate it," Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry stated following the execution. He further emphasized, "If you commit heinous acts of violence in this State, it will cost you your life. Plain and simple."
Attorney General Liz Murrill expressed expectations that Hoffman's execution would be the first of several this year, as the state expects four more death row inmates to be executed.
Under Louisiana's execution protocol, which closely mirrors Alabama’s, Hoffman was strapped to a gurney before a full-face respirator mask was tightly secured over his head.
Nitrogen gas has only been used four times before for executions in the United States, all of which took place in Alabama, the only other state with an established procedure for this method.
Pure nitrogen gas is then pumped into the mask, displacing oxygen and leading to death by asphyxiation.
Proponents of this method argue that it is painless, but the limited use of nitrogen gas in executions leaves many questions unanswered about its humaneness.
The protocol required that the gas be administered for at least 15 minutes or for five minutes after the inmate’s heart flatlined on the EKG, whichever lasted longer.
Currently, four states—Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma—authorize execution by nitrogen hypoxia, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center.
Alabama first used nitrogen gas for an execution in 2024, when Kenneth Eugene Smith became the first person in the US to be put to death using the method since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982.
In 2024, Louisiana's Republican-led Legislature expanded the state’s death penalty methods to include nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution, in addition to lethal injection.
On Tuesday afternoon, a small group of protesters gathered outside Angola Prison, where Louisiana carries out executions. Some participants distributed prayer cards with images of a smiling Hoffman, while others organized a Buddhist reading and "Meditation for Peace."
Over the past several decades, the number of executions in the United States has declined significantly due to legal battles, drug shortages for lethal injections, and decreasing public support for capital punishment.
Source: BRProud News - NBC Local 33 / Fox44.
As a result, a majority of states have either abolished or paused executions.
Hoffman was the seventh person executed in the US in 2025.
Have you seen changes in the conversation around capital punishment in your lifetime? Do you believe there is a humane way to carry out the death penalty, or should it be abolished altogether? Share your thoughts on this sensitive topic in the comments below.
On a somber Tuesday evening, 46-year-old Jessie Hoffman Jr. was put to death, marking a controversial milestone in the state's history and raising questions about the ethics and constitutionality of this execution technique.
Jessie Hoffman Jr. was convicted of the 1996 murder of Mary “Molly” Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive in New Orleans.
His case, like many involving capital punishment, was fraught with appeals and legal challenges that spanned over two decades.
On Monday, Hoffman’s attorneys filed a series of last-minute legal challenges in both state and federal courts in an attempt to halt his execution.
One of these challenges, heard on Tuesday morning by Judge Richard "Chip" Moore of the 19th Judicial District Court, questioned whether the planned execution violated Hoffman’s religious freedom under the Preservation of Religious Freedom Act.
Louisiana conducted its first execution in 15 years using nitrogen gas, marking the state's first nitrogen gas execution. Image source: WWLTV / Youtube.
A day earlier, the judge had issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the state from moving forward with the execution until Tuesday morning’s hearing. The order was set to expire at 9:30 am, with the execution scheduled for later that evening.
However, according to CBS News affiliate WAFB, the Baton Rouge judge ultimately refused to block the execution.
Earlier this month, a federal judge temporarily halted Hoffman's execution, issuing a preliminary injunction against the use of nitrogen gas.
However, an appeals court swiftly overturned that ruling, clearing the way for the execution to proceed.
Following Tuesday’s hearing, Hoffman's legal team made one final appeal to the US Supreme Court, which ultimately declined to intervene in a 5-4 vote, according to The Associated Press.
Despite these efforts, the legal system's gears turned towards what Louisiana officials deemed “justice promised to victims' families.”
"It is unfortunate that bad people exist, and they do real bad things. When these acts of violence happen, society must not tolerate it," Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry stated following the execution. He further emphasized, "If you commit heinous acts of violence in this State, it will cost you your life. Plain and simple."
Attorney General Liz Murrill expressed expectations that Hoffman's execution would be the first of several this year, as the state expects four more death row inmates to be executed.
Jessie Hoffman Jr. was executed despite his attorneys' claims that the method is unconstitutional and an infringement on his religious freedoms. Image source: WWLTV / Youtube.
Under Louisiana's execution protocol, which closely mirrors Alabama’s, Hoffman was strapped to a gurney before a full-face respirator mask was tightly secured over his head.
Nitrogen gas has only been used four times before for executions in the United States, all of which took place in Alabama, the only other state with an established procedure for this method.
Pure nitrogen gas is then pumped into the mask, displacing oxygen and leading to death by asphyxiation.
Proponents of this method argue that it is painless, but the limited use of nitrogen gas in executions leaves many questions unanswered about its humaneness.
The protocol required that the gas be administered for at least 15 minutes or for five minutes after the inmate’s heart flatlined on the EKG, whichever lasted longer.
Currently, four states—Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma—authorize execution by nitrogen hypoxia, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center.
Alabama first used nitrogen gas for an execution in 2024, when Kenneth Eugene Smith became the first person in the US to be put to death using the method since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982.
In 2024, Louisiana's Republican-led Legislature expanded the state’s death penalty methods to include nitrogen hypoxia and electrocution, in addition to lethal injection.
Legal efforts including a series of court challenges and an attempted Supreme Court intervention failed to stop the execution. Image source: WWLTV / Youtube.
On Tuesday afternoon, a small group of protesters gathered outside Angola Prison, where Louisiana carries out executions. Some participants distributed prayer cards with images of a smiling Hoffman, while others organized a Buddhist reading and "Meditation for Peace."
Over the past several decades, the number of executions in the United States has declined significantly due to legal battles, drug shortages for lethal injections, and decreasing public support for capital punishment.
Source: BRProud News - NBC Local 33 / Fox44.
As a result, a majority of states have either abolished or paused executions.
Hoffman was the seventh person executed in the US in 2025.
Have you seen changes in the conversation around capital punishment in your lifetime? Do you believe there is a humane way to carry out the death penalty, or should it be abolished altogether? Share your thoughts on this sensitive topic in the comments below.
