First nitrogen gas execution in Louisiana takes place amid Catholic opposition

Louisiana carried out its first execution in 15 years on Tuesday evening, using nitrogen gas for the first time amid Catholic criticism of both the death penalty itself and the mode of execution.

Jessie Hoffman Jr. was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. after undergoing 19 minutes of nitrogen gas. According to a CBS News report, a witness to the execution said the convicted killer was “convulsing” throughout the process. His death comes after numerous attempts by his lawyers to stay his execution.

According to court documents, Hoffman in 1996 kidnapped Mary “Molly” Elliot at gunpoint near New Orleans and forced her to withdraw $200 from an ATM. He then raped her before marching her naked down a dirt path to a makeshift dock, where he shot her in the head “execution style.” She was found by a duck hunter the next morning.

The nitrogen method requires that the gas be administered for at least 15 minutes or for five minutes after the inmate’s heart is no longer beating. Hoffman was the seventh death row inmate to be executed in the country this year.

Nitrogen gas has been used in four other executions, each in the state of Alabama, where the method — also known as nitrogen hypoxia — has been legal since 2018. The process was first used last year, when the state of Alabama executed death row inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith in January 2024. 

The practice is also legal in Mississippi and Oklahoma, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. 

Catholics opposed to execution

The Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops (LACCB) had not released a statement on the execution by Wednesday afternoon. But the prelates issued a statement last month condemning the state’s intention to carry out its pending executions, writing that “no method of execution is acceptable including nitrogen hypoxia.” 

Capital punishment “only contributes to the culture of death,” they wrote. “We promote a culture of life, not death, in this great state we love. As bishops, we will continue to promote life from conception to natural death and work to end the execution of another human being.” 

A representative with LACCB told CNA that Baton Rogue Bishop Michael Duca had attended a prayer vigil ahead of Hoffman’s execution on Tuesday. 

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