(NewsNation) — Louisiana death row inmate Jessie Hoffman is set to become the first person executed by nitrogen gas in the state Tuesday unless the U.S. Supreme Court steps in.
Hoffman’s execution will move forward after a federal appeals court vacated a preliminary injunction last week by a lower court judge that halted the killing.
Lawyers representing Hoffman filed a petition with the nation’s highest court Sunday night on several unresolved legal questions in a final bid to block the execution.
They argued that death by nitrogen hypoxia “inflicts psychological suffering, including terror and mental anguish” amounting to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment.
They also say that nitrogen gas “substantially burdens” the exercise of his Buddhist faith, in violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalize Persons Act, by denying him the opportunity to meditatively breathe during his final moments.
Hoffman testified to his faith during a hearing in front of the court of appeals saying, “it allows me everyday to be a better version of myself.”
He was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1996 rape and killing of 28-year-old Mary “Molly” Elliot and has spent 27 years on death row.
If the death penalty is carried out Hoffman would be Louisiana’s first execution in 15 years.
Louisiana would become second state to use nitrogen gas execution method
Dozens gathered outside of Gov. Jeff Landry’s home on Sunday to protest against the execution. Landry has been an outspoken supporter of the death penalty.
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, the first state to use nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution and has carried out four such executions.
“Jessie Hoffman’s case raises exceptionally important constitutional and statutory issues that have divided the federal courts,” Cecelia Kappel, one of Hoffman’s attorneys, said in a statement.
“It would be unconscionable for the Supreme Court to allow Jessie to be executed before these questions of religious freedom and cruel and unusual punishment can be carefully and thoroughly resolved.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has said Louisiana is long overdue in delivering justice.
“This is justice for Mary “Molly” Elliot, her friends, her family, and for Louisiana,” Murill posted after the decision.
Is nitrogen gas a more humane execution method?
The country’s first execution using nitrogen gas was carried out last year in Alabama, which has since been used to execute four people in the state.
All of the men executed in Alabama using nitrogen shook or gasped to varying degrees on the gurney as they were being put to death, according to media witnesses, including The Associated Press.
Rev. Jeff Hood, the spiritual advisor for Kenneth Smith, who was the first person to be killed using nitrogen, witnessed his execution and called it “a slow, painful means of torture.”
Smith’s execution was “the most violent thing that I have ever witnessed or engaged with,” Hood told Catholic news outlet OSV. “It was absolutely … incredibly disturbing to see a human being suffocated to death.”
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has maintained the method as “painless and humane.”
After convicted murderer Alan Miller settled a lawsuit against Alabama over the use of nitrogen gas in 2024, Marshall stated, “The resolution of this case confirms that Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia system is reliable and humane.”
Currently, four states allow nitrogen gas executions: Louisiana, Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi.
Louisiana had paused executions for 15 years due to an inability to secure lethal injection drugs, but with a nitrogen gas execution protocol finalized last month, the state has been eager to proceed.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.