Louisiana marks first using nitrogen inhalation after 15-year hiatus

A death row inmate in the US state of Louisiana was executed on Tuesday using nitrogen inhalation, a method previously employed only in Alabama, for the first time after a 15-year hiatus.

Jessi Hoffman, 46, was convicted of the 1996 kidnapping, rape, and murder of Mary "Molly" Elliot and was executed using the nitrogen inhalation, a method criticised by United Nations experts as a form of torture.

While Hoffman's lwayers announced the execution through local media, it has yet to be officially confirmed by state authorities.

"The State was able to execute him by pushing out a new protocol and setting execution dates to prevent careful judicial review and shrouding the process in secrecy," said Cecelia Kappel, one of the lawyers.

Three more executions are scheduled to be carried out in the United States this week, with one in Arizona slated for Wednesday and another two on Thursday in Florida and Oklahoma.

All three will be carried out by lethal injection.

Six other executions have been carried out in the country since the beginning of the year, all by lethal injection, except for one in Alabama by nitrogen inhalation, and one by firing squad in South Carolina.

Hoffman´s lawyers had taken the request to stay his execution all the way to the Supreme Court, but to no avail.

The execution of Kenneth Smith on January 25, 2024 in Alabama was the world´s first by nitrogen inhalation, and had raised a wave of indignation.

Three more have since been carried out in the state.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states. Six others (Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee) observe a moratorium on executions.