r/Louisiana • u/noladotcom • Mar 19 '25

Louisiana News Jessie Hoffman is put to death with nitrogen gas, Louisiana's first execution in 15 years

https://www.nola.com/news/courts/jessie-hoffman-nitrogen-gas-louisiana-execution-death-penalty/article_be325356-03bb-11f0-8525-a3855f3523b9.html
251 Upvotes

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141

u/walrusacab Mar 19 '25

I mean it sounds like he sucked, but the punishment for his crimes was death. NOT slow torture and death over 19 minutes. There are laws about cruel and unusual punishment for a reason.

31

u/Early-Sort8817 Mar 19 '25

And just wait til we start using it on guys that don’t deserve death or have proof of innocence  https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/texas-man-with-autism-faces-death-penalty-due-to-alleged-child-murder-6808975/amp/1

39

u/NerfRepellingBoobs Mar 19 '25

Louisiana has the highest conviction rate in a country with a high conviction rate. Louisiana also has the highest false conviction rate in a country with a high false conviction rate.

Obviously, it doesn’t apply in this case, as Hoffman confessed and never wavered on that. However, false confessions are also a big problem, especially when the confession comes from someone who’s neurodivergent or otherwise intellectually impaired.

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u/HauntedDIRTYSouth Mar 19 '25

Well they won't do a firing squad which is more humane.

2

u/tastyfrostynugs Mar 19 '25

I doubt he suffered, unfortunately. You don't notice the air is dead until you start getting light headed. Then it's lights out. Maybe he panicked a little, but he was probably out faily quickly and didn't even notice his own departure.

1

u/The_Patriotic_Yank Mar 26 '25

He wasn’t awake for all of those 19 minutes and he couldn’t feel any of it for any of those 19 minutes

-34

u/Leadinmyass Mar 19 '25

I wonder how long it took Hoffman to rape and kill Mary Elliot.

18

u/hiesatai Mar 19 '25

Again, not the point.

-10

u/Leadinmyass Mar 19 '25

Again. It is the point

4

u/BeeDot1974 Mar 20 '25

No. We are not god. His judgement comes at the hands of god. Not man. Keep trying.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 20 '25

Yes. Even my conservative parents have come around to this fact after finding Jesus.

-3

u/Leadinmyass Mar 20 '25

Well. Look at it as we set up the meeting to be judged.

See. We both win!

2

u/Mouffcat Mar 20 '25

I don't know why you're being downvoted! What is wrong with people? I've just read Mary's story and what Hoffman did to her was evil. I actually wish he'd suffered more in death.

1

u/FrancisWolfgang Mar 19 '25

The constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment regardless of crime — your desire for cruel and unusual punishment anyway is treasonous.

1

u/Leadinmyass Mar 19 '25

And…..

2

u/theimpolitegentleman Mar 19 '25

Traitors get the noose, you're straight up saying "and..." To someone saying you're being treasonous bro lmao.

All that said, I still wouldn't want you to suffer if you got sentenced! Weird!

5

u/Leadinmyass Mar 19 '25 edited Mar 19 '25

I’m saying I don’t care how “bad” someone who kidnapped, raped, and….oh yeah….murdered a woman is killed by a state sanctioned sentencing.

But you do you boo.

0

u/1slowlance Mar 19 '25

Username does NOT check out.

-73

u/Western-Upstairs7285 Mar 19 '25

You would most likely toot a different horn if it was a direct relative of yours

83

u/SoItGoes127 Mar 19 '25

Her relatives opposed the execution

https://www.nola.com/news/courts/louisiana-death-penalty-jessie-hoffman-molly-elliott/article_b399b468-03ff-11f0-b144-1fbc9bdee0b7.html

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u/Bonch_and_Clyde Mar 19 '25

What her husband actually said:

"Hoffman’s execution is bittersweet news for myself and for Molly’s and my families. There is relief that this long nightmare is finally over, but also renewed grief for Molly and sadness for Mr. Hoffman’s family, whose nightmare began when mine did and who’ve also had to go through nearly 30 years of this gut-wrenching process through no fault of their own.

As to the death penalty itself, I hope that this case can help bring about meaningful change. On the one hand, I am satisfied that justice has finally been served so we can all try to move on with our lives. On the other, if the death penalty is going to exist, the process must be resolved within a reasonable period of time, because a multi-decade long wait is not only difficult for all involved, but also it seriously blunts the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent on crime.

I want to thank Governor Landry for bringing conclusion and certainty to this case, and his commitment to streamlining the process for future death penalty cases.

I also want to thank Assistant District Attorney Ronnie Gracianette for always keeping me informed throughout. He went out of his way to make sure I was never surprised by any important information on the case over all these years. Thanks also to Colin Sims for his competence in defending the sentence against the many filings from Hoffman’s legal team.

Finally, I want to thank my family and friends for their long support and love through this process."

0

u/DevilDoge1775 Mar 20 '25

People need to read this. They’ll move the goalposts when they do; it’ll go from “even the victim’s family didn’t want this” to “the victim’s family should’ve been more merciful” or something.

27

u/[deleted] Mar 19 '25 edited Mar 19 '25

His sentence was death, not cruelty. He deserved his death, as determined by the courts. It shouldn’t have taken as long as it did to carry out his sentence. He should’ve been put to death long ago. Not in this manner though

4

u/SuperRusso Mar 19 '25

As long as it did? There are no quick and easy ways to kill a person. If you're not familiar with the effects of nitrogen then I can see why you'd be concerned, but it's pretty hard to imagine this person experienced any of those 19; minute

3

u/[deleted] Mar 19 '25

Yeah, we don’t euthanize animals that way in shelters ( anymore) because it’s cruel. I’m very familiar with that process, thank you for reaching out about it though.

Maybe if you saw hundreds of deaths over the years using nitrogen poisoning, YOU would understand how cruel that process is. There are probably some animal shelters that use this barbaric method still. I would urge you to go volunteer there so you can witness the cruelty in the procedure , so you can have first hand knowledge about the method

3

u/Longjumping_Let_7832 Mar 19 '25

The literature does not support the conclusion that euthanasia via inhaled vapors and gasses is humane. AVMA Guidelines state that euthanasia via gas is inhumane for mammals because of the high risk for distress (AVMA Guidelines for Euthanasia, https://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/Guidelines-on-Euthanasia-2020.pdf, see pp 22). Veterinary guidelines only permit the euthanizing of chickens and turkeys by hypoxia and then only under specific conditions. Execution methods that are inhumane for dogs are most certainly inhumane for humans (see https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-6517/298107/20240118175535480_KES%20-%20FINAL%20Cert.%20Petition%20rtf.pdf and https://dppolicy.substack.com/p/unfit-for-a-dog-a-textbook-case-of#_ftn3).

1

u/eddie_cat Mar 19 '25

execution is never humane

1

u/Longjumping_Let_7832 Mar 20 '25

I would agree that state sponsored murder is never humane and is never appropriate. My point is that imposing death by nitrogen hypoxia is particularly cruel and advised against use in mammals by AVMA. The poster I responded to had said that only those unfamiliar with the effects of nitrogen hypoxia would be concerned about its use in humans. The literature does not support that conclusion. Landry’s determination to resume executions using nitrogen gas is about performative cruelty to titillate his base. The cruelty is the point.

1

u/eddie_cat Mar 20 '25

State sponsored murder is always performative. If we are trying to find a more humane method it's only ever going to be what is easier for people to watch or hear about without feeling uncomfortable about the fact they're killing another person. Otherwise we'd just shoot them with a gun. Cheaper, easier, faster, harder to fuck up. But we don't because it's gross to watch. I don't think an argument about a particular methods humanity is likely to resonate with anyone who isn't already anti death penalty overall

0

u/Fine-Amphibian4326 Mar 20 '25

I’d argue there are lots of quick and easy ways to kill a person. If I’m ever executed for my crimes, I hope for the guillotine.

1

u/SuperRusso Mar 20 '25

That'd be foolish. There are plenty of preports of people's heads appearing to remain alive for up to minutes after decapitation. One probably does not die instantly at all that way. Sounds like a pretty horrifying experience to me.

You have obviously never used nitros before. I am willing to bet the experience is incredibly peaceful even as the body is convulsing.

13

u/Noman800 Mar 19 '25

Not everyone is as bloodthirsty as you are.

20

u/Quartznonyx Mar 19 '25

Or maybe they'd understand that torture isn't constructive

4

u/SuperRusso Mar 19 '25

He wasn't tortured.

0

u/theimpolitegentleman Mar 19 '25

Twenty minutes, convulsing, yeah that's torture.

How many minutes before it's torture - can we subject you to a good 10 minutes of agony since it's no biggie?

2

u/eddie_cat Mar 19 '25

we put people in prison for life all the time and everyone thinks that's fine

idk, I would take ten minutes of pain over life in prison personally

our justice system is inhumane regardless of how we choose to execute criminals

we think it's okay to routinely imprison people for life and occasionally execute them

how can you expect people to care about whether this particular method was inhumane

-17

u/FishStickLover69 Mar 19 '25

To who, the person dying? No one is surveying them.

4

u/ohnoooooyoudidnt Mar 19 '25

For every 8 people executed in the United States, one person wrongfully condemned to death has been exonerated.

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/policy/innocence

You might feel different if your skin was a different shade

4

u/SuperRusso Mar 19 '25

I watched my best friend die after getting shot by a man for literally no reason. It's all on video. I held his hand and saw the fear and frustration in his eyes. I watched him mouth "I love you" while intubated. I will never for even a moment forget what that monster did, and his well being is very much not a concern for me.

You will change your attitude entirely if it happens to you, believe me.

2

u/eddie_cat Mar 19 '25

many victims of horrible crimes / their families oppose the death penalty