BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's first execution using nitrogen gas is set to move forward as planned next week after a federal appeals court on Friday overturned a preliminary injunction granted by a lower judge's. Jessie Hoffman Jr.
, who was convicted of the 1996 murder of Mary Elliott in New Orleans, is scheduled to be put to death on March 18 — marking Louisiana's first execution in 15 years. 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 and has carried out four such executions.
Hoffman's attorneys said that the new execution method is a violation of the Constitution, describing it as cruel and unusual punishment. During a hearing last week, multiple 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 to varying degrees during their executions, according to media witnesses, including The Associated Press.
Alabama officials have said the shaking and gasping are involuntary movements associated with oxygen deprivation. Attorneys for Louisiana remain adamant that nitrogen hypoxia is seemingly painless. Following last week's .