On Tuesday, Louisiana death row inmates were executed with nitrogen gas, a method that has never been used before in the state.
“Louisiana officially executed Jesse Hoffman, and executed the state's first nitrogen gas execution. His lawyers confirmed it for us,” Nora News reporter Andrea Gallo shared in an X's post.
Hoffman, 46, was convicted in 1996 of temptation, rape and murder of 28-year-old advertising executive Mary “Molly” Elliott.
Elliott was accused of Hoffman, who was then 18 years old, the day before Thanksgiving, the day before he was filming in the countryside of St. Tammany Parish.
Just before Hoffman was due to die, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected its final request to block enforcement.
Hoffman's lawyer, Cecelia Kappel, has previously failed in a state appeal that enforcement of a convicted murderer via nitrogen gas would be unconstitutional and would violate his religious freedom.
“It's a conscious choking,” Kappel told Wvue. “It has a pillow in your face. It's like own death.”
The appeal stated that because Hoffman is a Buddhist, his breathing and meditation practices will be confused by the execution process.
“He suggested, 'I'll kill me with the shooting squad,'” Kappel said. “At least I will be able to breathe air at the time of my death,” and the nation said no. ”
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Hoffman, 46, was convicted of 1996 entrant, rape and murder by 28-year-old advertising executive Mary Elliott. (Via Caroline Tillman/Federal Public Defence Counsel's Office via Central and Western Districts of Louisiana)
Louisiana officials say the way to take oxygen is painless and declare that after a decade and a half rest, it is a time in the past that the state conveys promised justice to the victims' families.
Hoffman was given a temporary reprieve by a federal judge, but was overturned by the Fifth Circuit on Friday, and additional attempts to halt the state's executions were also denied Tuesday morning.
Inside the running chamber. (AP/Chuck Robinson)
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Maril said the court's decision would help bring justice to Elliott.
“Destruction: The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals will overturn the injunction in Hoffman's case. The convicted murderers and rapists will be brought to trial on Tuesday,” Maryle wrote in a post on X.
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“This is Mary's justice,” Molly “For Elliott, her friends, her family, and Louisiana.”
Murrill added that he expects at least four people to be executed this year in the Louisiana death line.
Hoffman was executed in the US in 2025 and is set to become Louisiana's first person since 2010.
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The Louisiana flag flew Tuesday at the entrance to Louisiana State Prison in Angola, Louisiana, where convicted murderer Jesse Hoffman Jr. was killed. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate by AP)
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Currently, only four states allow nitrogen gas deaths, including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma. However, this method is only used in Alabama.
The number of enforcement has fallen sharply nationwide amid the legal battle over recent decades, with the majority of states abolishing or suspending the death penalty, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. She covers topics including missing persons, murder, national crime cases, illegal immigration and more. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com
