Louisiana is scheduled to use nitrogen gas in an execution for the first time tonight. Here's what to know ahead of the expected execution of Jessie Hoffman, Jr., age 46.
When and where will the execution happen?
Louisiana state law requires executions to happen between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. The state's death chamber is at Angola, where all death row inmates in Louisiana are housed. Louisiana recently updated its execution chamber for nitrogen gas executions.
Who will witness the execution?
The state's new execution protocol — which a federal judge recently ordered unsealed to the public — outlines who is allowed to witness the death.
The witnesses include:
- The warden of Angola or his designee
- The coroner of West Feliciana or their designee
- A physician chosen by the prison warden
- A "competent person" chosen by the warden to carry out the execution
- A priest, minister or spiritual adviser for the condemned inmate
- Two media representatives
- Two witnesses who are representatives of the victim in the case (Andy Elliott, the husband of the victim in Hoffman's case, said he does not plan to attend)
- Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Secretary Gary Westcott recently testified that he plans to have three others in attendance: a representative from law enforcement, a representative from Gov. Jeff Landry's office and a representative from Attorney General Liz Murrill's office.
Aside from his spiritual adviser, Hoffman will not be allowed to have any of his representatives — including his attorney and family — witness the execution.
Is there anything that can stop the execution from happening today?
Hoffman's attorneys have filed a flurry of last-minute legal challenges to the execution and it's possible one could stop them from going forward. A state judge in Baton Rouge and a federal judge in New Orleans will each hear arguments Tuesday morning about why the state should not move forward with the execution. They could issue injunctions that block the state from executing Hoffman. Hoffman's team has also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on his case.
Why is Jessie Hoffman on death row?
Hoffman was convicted in the 1996 abduction, rape and murder of Mary "Molly" Elliott. He was accused of abducting her from a parking lot in New Orleans where he worked as an attendant as she walked back to her car after work at Peter Mayer Advertising. A duck hunter found her body near the Middle Pearl River in rural St. Tammany Parish. His legal team says he has transformed in prison and become a mentor to others.
What does the victim's family say?
Hoffman's victim, Molly Elliott, was married and lived in Covington with her husband, Andy Elliott, at the time of her death. Andy Elliott said last week that he was torn about the execution. He said nothing can lessen the pain of losing Molly and that he mainly hoped Hoffman would provide an explanation of why he committed the brutal crime.
"The reality is this: after this much time passing, I’ve become indifferent to the death penalty vs. life in prison without possibility of parole," he said in a statement. "However, I’m not indifferent to the uncertainty that has accompanied these many years. If putting him to death is the easiest way to end the uncertainty, then on balance I favor that solution. But, his death will not provide closure."
Elliott said he would not attend the execution.
“I don’t have the appetite," he said. "If this would have happened three or four years after the event, I for sure would have attended and would have been one of the most pro-death penalty people you would ever meet. It’s amazing how much time and distance can change you.”
What is nitrogen gas and why doesn't Louisiana use another execution method?
State officials say they turned to nitrogen gas after drug companies have forbidden them from using their pharmaceuticals in executions. They say drug companies have threatened to withhold medications from prison populations if their drugs are used in capital cases.
Alabama began using nitrogen gas in executions last year. Louisiana legalized both nitrogen gas and electrocution as execution methods last year and has closely mirrored Alabama's protocols for nitrogen gas. The colorless, odorless gas causes asphyxiation as someone breathes nitrogen instead of oxygen.
Louisiana's protocol says death row inmates will be forced to breathe pure nitrogen through a respirator mask for 15 minutes or for 5 minutes after the inmate's heart rate reaches a flatline on an EKG, whichever is longer.
Where can I get live updates?
Follow along at Nola.com.
