Louisiana used nitrogen gas on Tuesday night to execute a man convicted of killing a woman in 1996, marking the first time the state has used the method, the convicted man's lawyer said, The Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
Jesse Hoffman Jr., 46, was put to death at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, his lawyer Cecelia Capel said in a statement. He is the first to be executed in the state in 15 years, and his death marks the fifth use of the nitrogen gas method in the United States, with all the others being in Alabama.
Hoffman was convicted of killing Mary "Molly" Elliott, a 28-year-old advertising executive. Hoffman was 18 at the time of the crime.
Hoffman's lawyers argue that the nitrogen gas method of execution violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. State officials, however, argue that the method is painless.
Late Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request to block the execution.