Louisiana's first execution using nitrogen gas is set to move forward as planned after a federal appeals court on Friday vacated a preliminary injunction granted by a lower judge, the Associated Press reports. With Tuesday's date nearing, attorneys for Jessie Hoffman Jr. are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution. State officials, including Attorney General Liz Murrill, applauded the appeals court's decision, saying Louisiana is long overdue in delivering justice promised to the families of victims. Hoffman’s attorney, Cecelia Kappel, said the “new execution method is likely to cause Jessie to suffer psychological terror and a torturous death.” Under the state's new procedure, Hoffman will be strapped to a gurney and forced to breathe pure nitrogen gas through a full-face respirator mask. The protocol is nearly identical to that of Alabama, the first state to use nitrogen hypoxia as a method of execution. The state has carried out four such executions.
Hoffman, who was convicted of the 1996 murder of Mary Elliott in New Orleans, would be Louisiana’s first person executed in 15 years. Hoffman's attorneys say the new execution method is a violation of the Constitution, describing it as cruel and unusual punishment. In a hearing, medical experts testified that they believe the method to be torturous, with one expert comparing the method to causing the same sensation and emotional terror as drowning. Hoffman's attorneys pointed to nitrogen hypoxia executions in Alabama, where inmates appeared to shake and gasp during their executions. Alabama officials said the shaking and gasping are involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation. Attorneys for Louisiana remain adamant that nitrogen hypoxia is seemingly painless. After the hearing, U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick issued a preliminary injunction stopping the state from moving forward with the execution. On Friday the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said the state could move forward with the execution using nitrogen gas. Judge James Ho and Judge Andrew Oldham, both appointees of President Donald Trump, ruled to vacate the lower court's preliminary injunction. The judges pointed to the state's argument that Hoffman's requested execution method of a firing squad would be “more painful” than nitrogen hypoxia.
Komentar