The Supreme Court allowed Louisiana to proceed with its first execution using nitrogen gas on Tuesday evening in a closely divided 5-4 decision.
Jessie Hoffman, convicted of the 1996 rape and murder of Mary “Molly” Elliot, was pronounced dead at 7:08 p.m. local time.
The court voted 5-4 against granting a stay, with Justice Neil M. Gorsuch joining the court’s three Democratic appointees in dissent. Hoffman had argued the execution method violated the 8th Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and could interfere with his Buddhist religious breathing practices.
Justice Gorsuch wrote that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals failed to fully consider Hoffman’s religious freedom claim. “Perhaps that claim ultimately lacks merit. But the Fifth Circuit’s unexplained omission leaves this Court poorly positioned to assess it,” he stated in his dissent.
Louisiana’s solicitor general defended the execution, arguing Hoffman’s legal challenge was merely a delay tactic that could have been raised months earlier. State officials maintained the nitrogen gas method is painless.
The state introduced its nitrogen hypoxia protocol last month, which involves forced inhalation of pure nitrogen. Louisiana last carried out an execution in 2010 using lethal injection but cited difficulties obtaining the necessary drugs as the reason for changing methods.
In January, Alabama became the first state to use nitrogen gas in an execution when it put Kenneth Eugene Smith to death. Eyewitnesses reported Smith experienced seizure-like convulsions for several minutes before dying, raising concerns about the method’s humaneness.
Advocates for the nitrogen method argue it provides a more reliable alternative given the pharmaceutical industry’s reluctance to supply lethal injection drugs. Critics contend the method remains experimental and potentially cruel.
The execution marks Louisiana’s return to capital punishment after a 14-year hiatus and signals the state’s willingness to embrace alternative execution methods amid ongoing challenges to traditional lethal injection protocols.
Read more: Louisiana inmate executed after challenge to nitrogen gas denied by Supreme Court
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