Overview

• Jessie Hoffman, convicted of the 1996 abduction, rape, and murder of Mary 'Molly' Elliott, is scheduled to be executed Tuesday evening using nitrogen gas at Louisiana State Penitentiary.
• This execution will be Louisiana's first in 15 years and the first time the state employs nitrogen hypoxia, a method previously used only in Alabama.
• Critics argue the method violates constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment, citing distress observed in prior executions, and note its ban for euthanizing pets in Louisiana.
• Hoffman's legal team has filed multiple appeals, including to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming the method infringes on his religious freedoms as a practicing Buddhist.
• The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a prior injunction, allowing the execution to proceed, with Louisiana officials asserting the method is humane and overdue for justice.