Louisiana carried out its first execution in 15 years, using nitrogen gas for the first time in the state’s history.
Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. The gas flowed for 19 minutes, and according to officials, the execution was “flawless.”
However, witnesses reported seeing Hoffman shake involuntarily, with some describing it as “convulsive activity.” Despite this, the three witnesses who spoke—including two journalists—said everything appeared to go as expected.
Gina Swanson, a reporter for WDSU, described the execution as “clinical” and “procedural,” saying, “There was nothing that made me think, ‘Was that right? Was that how it was supposed to go?’”
Hoffman declined to make a final statement or request a last meal.
This marks only the fifth time nitrogen gas has been used for an execution in the U.S., following four executions in Alabama. Meanwhile, three more executions—using lethal injection—are scheduled in Arizona, Florida, and Oklahoma.
Hoffman’s Conviction and Legal Battles
Hoffman was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Mary “Molly” Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive in New Orleans. He was just 18 at the time of the crime and spent most of his adult life on death row.
In the weeks leading up to his execution, Hoffman’s attorneys fought to stop it, even taking their case to the U.S. Supreme Court. They argued that nitrogen gas—an execution method that deprives the body of oxygen—violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. They also claimed it would interfere with Hoffman’s Buddhist beliefs, preventing him from practicing breathing meditation in his final moments.
Louisiana officials defended the method, saying it was painless and long overdue, citing the state’s 15-year hiatus on executions due in part to difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs.
The Supreme Court ultimately ruled 5-4 against halting the execution. Earlier in the day, a Louisiana judge also refused to intervene, saying the religious claims had already been addressed in federal court.
How the Execution Unfolded
Louisiana followed a protocol similar to Alabama’s. Hoffman was strapped to a gurney and fitted with a tight full-face respirator mask before pure nitrogen gas was pumped in, replacing the oxygen in his system. The gas was administered for at least 15 minutes or until his heart rate flatlined for five minutes—whichever took longer.
Two media witnesses reported that Hoffman was covered with a gray blanket from the neck down, and his spiritual adviser was by his side. Before the execution, witnesses could hear Buddhist chanting.
The gas started flowing at 6:21 p.m., and Hoffman’s body twitched. Witnesses described his hands clenching and his head making slight movements. Swanson noted she could see his chest rising and falling under the blanket, showing he was still breathing. His final visible breath appeared to be at 6:37 p.m. The curtains separating the chamber from the witness room were then briefly closed, and when they reopened, he was declared dead.
Seth Smith, chief of operations for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, acknowledged Hoffman’s movements but said they were involuntary. With a medical background, Smith said he believed Hoffman was unconscious and that the convulsions were simply “an involuntary response to dying.”
