The state of Louisiana carried out its first execution in 15 years on Tuesday night, the 18th, also marking the state’s first use of nitrogen gas as a lethal method . Jessie Hoffman Jr. , 46, convicted of the rape and murder of Mary “Molly” Elliot, was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. after spending 19 minutes inhaling the gas through a breathing mask.
Strapped to a gurney in the execution chamber at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Hoffman refused to give a final statement or choose his last meal.
According to witnesses, he twitched and shook involuntarily during the process. “It was an involuntary response to death,” said Seth Smith, chief of operations for the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. “He appeared unconscious at that point.”
Governor Jeff Landry said the execution marked the end of a long wait for justice. “Since that terrible day, Molly’s family and friends have been forced to relive the tragedy in countless court cases. Today, after 28 years, justice has been served,” he said.
Hoffman, who kidnapped and killed Elliot in 1996, was the fifth U.S. inmate to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia. The method, which replaces oxygen with pure nitrogen, had been used only in Alabama before this execution. The practice is banned for euthanizing animals and classified as torture by the United Nations.
The U.S. Supreme Court on a 5-4 vote rejected a last-ditch effort by Hoffman’s lawyers to block his execution. The defense argued that the method would violate the religious freedom of the convict, who had converted to Buddhism and practiced meditation as part of his beliefs.
Outside the prison, protesters demonstrated against the death penalty, including Florence, Hoffman’s younger sister. She was photographed sitting under an oak tree, holding a photo of her brother as she waited for news, according to NOLA.
Louisiana expanded its death penalty policy in 2024 to include nitrogen inhalation and electrocution in addition to lethal injection. State Attorney General Liz Murrill said at least four more executions are scheduled for this year.
Remember the case
Jessie Hoffman Jr. was sentenced to death for the 1996 rape and murder of Mary “Molly” Elliot, a 28-year-old advertising executive. The crime occurred the day before Thanksgiving in New Orleans, Louisiana, when Hoffman, then 18, abducted Molly from her own home.
He took her to a secluded area in St. Tammany Parish, where he raped her and then shot her to death. Her body was found near the Middle Pearl River on a makeshift dock. The crime shocked the local community and resulted in a trial that ended with Hoffman being sentenced to death.
During the 28 years he spent on death row, Hoffman’s sentence was challenged several times by his lawyers, who claimed he had changed over the years and questioned the legality of the execution method. However, their appeals were rejected by the courts.
Governor Jeff Landry highlighted the brutality of the crime when justifying the execution: “If you commit heinous acts in this state, it will cost you your life. It’s that simple.”
