A Louisiana man was executed this week after a hard-fought battle by his legal team arguing that the method violated his religious freedom went all the way to the Supreme Court. Even more alarming is the fact that it was the state’s first time attempting the method...ever.
Nitrogen gas was used to put Jessie Hoffman to death on March 18. The execution marks the fifth time the method was used in the United States and the first time in the state of Louisiana, according to NOLA.com. Hoffman’s legal team had been trying to block the state from executing him, saying that the use of nitrogen gas, which as CNN explains deprives the body of oxygen and ultimately forces the organs to shut down, violated his Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment as well as his freedom of religion.
Attorneys argued that inhaling the gas would prevent Hoffman, who was Buddhist, from practicing mindful breathing and meditation before his death, according to ABC News.
Hoffman had been sitting in a Louisiana penitentiary since he was convicted of raping and murdering a 28-year-old woman in New Orleans when he was 18. But his attorneys argued that he spent most of his time in prison becoming a new man who was loved by many.
“Tonight, the State of Louisiana took the life of Jessie Hoffman, a man who was deeply loved, who brought light to those around him, and who spent nearly three decades proving that people can change,” attorney Caroline Tillman said in a statement.
Nearly 50 people held a vigil outside of the prison, praying, meditating and calling for an end to the death penalty in the United States. Hoffman’s case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ultimately voted 5-4 against granting a stay of execution, according to ABC News, with justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Neil Gorsuch in the minority.
Jessie Hoffman was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. March 18, just 19 minutes after the gas began flowing, according to ABC News.