Louisiana death row inmate asks for last-minute court ruling to halt nitrogen gas execution

On the day that Louisiana’s first execution in 15 years is scheduled to take place, attorneys for the inmate are hoping for a last-minute court ruling to halt the death penalty from being carried out.

On the day that Louisiana’s first execution in 15 years is scheduled to take place, attorneys for the inmate are hoping for a last-minute court ruling to halt the death penalty from being carried out. Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday evening using nitrogen gas, which would be the first time Louisiana has ever used the method. Nitrogen gas has been used just four other times to execute a person on death row in the United States, all in Alabama — which is the only other state where there is a protocol for the specific method. Hoffman’s attorneys say the method is unconstitutional, violating the Eighth Amendment that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. They also say it infringes on Hoffman’s freedom to practice religion, specifically his Buddhist breathing and meditation in the moments leading up to his death. Louisiana officials say it is past time for the state to deliver justice that was promised to the families of the victims, after a decade and a half hiatus on executions. Attorney General Liz Murrill says she expects at least four people on Louisiana’s death row to be executed this year. Following court battles earlier this month, attorneys for Hoffman are turning to the US Supreme Court to halt the execution. However, last year the court declined to intervene in the nation’s first nitrogen hypoxia death row execution. On Monday, Hoffman’s attorneys filed a slew of additional challenges in state and federal courts as a last-ditch effort to stop the execution. A state judge will consider one of the new challenges on Tuesday morning. But with the hearing taking place just hours before Hoffman is scheduled to be put to death, attorneys will face a race against the clock.