Brenna Cooper
Warning: This story contains details of rape and an execution, some of which readers may find distressing.
Controversial details have emerged after a man in the US became the third person in the country to be killed via a contentious execution method.
Jessie Hoffman Jr became the first person to be executed in 15 years in the state of Louisiana, after being convicted of the 1996 rape and murder of Molly Elliott.
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On 26 November, 1996, just two months after turning 18, he kidnapped 28-year-old Elliott as she was walking to her car.
Hoffman would then force Elliott to withdraw money from an ATM before making her drive to a remote location close to the border with Mississippi. He would then sexually assault the advertising executive before fatally shooting her in the head.
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He was later arrested for her murder and found guilty and received the death penalty in 1998. On 18 March, Hoffman was executed by nitrogen hypoxia at Louisiana State Penitentiary, becoming the first man in 15 years to have his sentence carried out in the state.
He is also the third person to be executed using this method in the United States, following Kenneth Eugene Smith and Alan Eugene Miller in 2024.
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Hoffman declined to give a final statement before the mask was placed onto his face. Nitrogen gas began to flow at 6.21pm and his last visible breath was noted 16 minutes later. He was officially pronounced dead at 6.50pm.
According to a report from The Advocate, those who were allowed to witness Hoffman's execution were allowed into the chamber at 6.17pm, where the 46-year-old was strapped to a gurney and covered with a grey blanket which exposed only his head and arms.
According to the eye-witnesses, he began to exhibit 'convulsive activity' as the oxygen depravation began to take place.
The Guardian added that he was made to breathe the gas for 19 minutes and he had his fists had clenched during the process, while MPB said that he appeared to be twitching as the gas was administered.
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Hoffman had declined his last meal earlier on in the day and was accompanied into the execution chamber by his Buddhist spiritual advisor. His legal team had previously argued that the method had violated his religious practices.
Execution by nitrogen hypoxia is considered controversial by many due to arguments that it causes a cruel and unnecessarily long death. The method is also prohibited for euthanising cats and dogs in Louisiana.
Hoffman's family had demonstrated against his execution in the run up to the 18 March date while Elliott's widower Andy said he was 'indifferent' to the decision.
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"His death will not provide closure," Andy told USA Today before the sentence was carried out.