March 27, 2025

The Execution of Jessie Hoffman

The Execution of Jessie Hoffman

In this episode of Bloody Angola Podcast, Jim Chapman gives you the recent details regarding the Execution of Jessie Hoffman via Nitrogen Hypoxia 

Timestamps
01:39 On Again Off Again On Again
28:44 Justice Served for Molly Elliott
32:02 Execution...

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Season 7

In this episode of Bloody Angola Podcast, Jim Chapman gives you the recent details regarding the Execution of Jessie Hoffman via Nitrogen Hypoxia

Timestamps
01:39 On Again Off Again On Again
28:44 Justice Served for Molly Elliott
32:02 Execution Protocol
37:17 AG Liz Murrill and Governor Jeff Landry Statements

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WEBVTT

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M M.

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A Wall Street line, shackle change, oh someome gird, it's

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calling my name. There is no mercy and it's been

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a tentery juice as the huge stream game Wrangle three.

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Come in by me to die.

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Inside these walls, inside the wild.

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And when the girl as I, Hey everyone, and welcome

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back to Bloody Angola, A podcast one and forty two

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years in the making, the complete story of America's Bloody

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Is Prison. I'm Jim Chapman, and a lot has happened

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since the last time I dropped an episode. Just last week,

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if you've been listening, we just completed a three part

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series in which I covered the crimes and convictions of

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three inmates that had received death warrants in the state

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of Louisiana. In the first episode in that three part

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series covered the crimes of Jesse Hoffman, who, if you'll remember,

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had his execution delayed due to a Louisiana District judge

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finding the method of execution nitrogen hypoxia, unconstitutional and a

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violation of the Eighth Amendment, which is cruel and unusual punishment. Now,

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this was on March eleventh, So on March twelfth, ag

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Liz Murel. She files what is known as an emergency brief,

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and she urges the courts to move forward. Now, what

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really spearheaded this, at least from the defense standpoint, was

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the claim that the state did not release their execution

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protocol until the eve of May seventh. So essentially they're

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saying they didn't have time to legally scrutinize that protocol.

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So let's go over Louisiana's execution protocol quickly. So the

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protocol outlines a structured, multi phase process and it begins

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thirty days before the execution and continues until after the

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inmate is pronounced dead. In Phase one, which is thirty

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days before the execution, the inmate is served a death

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warrant and he must acknowledge or she must acknowledge receipt

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of that death warrant. The inmate may select a spiritual

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advisor who must undergo training if they wish to be

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present in the execution chamber. Medical monitoring begins, and that

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includes mental health evaluations. All that is in phase one,

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which is thirty days out. Then in phase two, which

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is two weeks out fourteen days, the inmate's family receives

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formal notice of the execution date. The inmate also finalizes

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any legal, spiritual, or funeral arrangements. Then they move on

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to Phase three, which is ten to three days before

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the execution. Law enforcement agencies they get notified of the execution.

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Witnesses including victim representatives and media, are selected. Final equipment

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inspections as the security briefings are conducted, and then they

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move to Phase four, which is twelve to thirty six

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hours before the execution. At that time, the execution chamber

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is placed on what's known as restricted access. The nitrogen

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hypoxia system gets tested to make sure it's functional, The

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inmate's personal property is inventoried and secured, and then Phase

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five is the day of the execution. At noon, the

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inmate is served a final meal if he or she

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so chooses. One hour before the execution, final security checks

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are conducted. The end gets prepared, including being fitted with

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what's none as a pulse oximeter. The nitrogen hypoxia mask

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is placed into the execution chamber, and then the execution commences.

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The warden opens the nitrogen gas lockout valve. The gas

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is administered for at least fifteen minutes, or until five

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minutes after a flight line is detected on an EKG machine,

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the chamber is ventilated before officials confirmed the execution is complete.

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And then there's a phase six, which is post execution procedures,

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which the corner officially pronounces the inmate dead, the Governor's

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office is notified, and the body is removed. Funeral arrangements

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are carried out per the inmate's request. So that is

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the official execution protocol for the State of Louisiana, and

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that's what they were arguing. They didn't have this protocol,

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so they couldn't legally scrutinize it. I mean, they're by time, right, So,

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as I told you, Liz Muriel files what's known as

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an emergency brief and at that point the Louisiana appeals

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to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal and they actually

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overturned the temporary injunction on Jesse Hoffman's execution. The execution

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was on and it happened in quick order, but not

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before the justice system got quite the workout first. After

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exhausting all other avenues, Hoffman appealed to the US Supreme Court.

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In the eleventh hour. He filed both a writ and

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an application for stay of execution. And I have that,

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and I'm going to review it with you real quick.

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Jesse Hoffman's execution is scheduled for March eighteenth, twenty twenty five,

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between six and nine pm to the Honorable Samuel Alito,

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Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

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and Circuit Justice for the Fifth Circuit. Petitioner Jesse Hoffman, respectively,

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requests that this Court stay his execution using nitrogen hypoxia,

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penning the Court's disposition of his pending petition of a WRINT.

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Mister Hoffman is scheduled to be executed on March eighteenth,

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twenty twenty five, between six and nine pm if the

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Court is unable to resolve this application by five point

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fifty nine. On March eighteenth, twenty twenty five, issued grant

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a temporary stay while it considers the application. Then it

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lists the reasons reasoning for granting the stay of application.

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Mister Hoffman's execution date is presently March eighteenth, twenty twenty five.

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Mister Hoffman has concurrently filed a petition for a WRINT.

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With this application, the impending execution date may preclude this

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Court from considering mister Hoffman's petition before the scheduled execution,

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thus necessitating this application. Mister Hoffman's challenge to his execution

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is timely raised and has a very strong likely hood

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of success on the merits. The State of Louisiana announced

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on February tenth, twenty twenty five, that it had created

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a protocol for execution by nitrogen hypoxia, that is, the

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deprivation of oxygen through the forced inhalation of pure nitrogen

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until someone dies. It served mister Hoffman with a death

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warrant on February twentieth, twenty twenty five, notifying him for

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the first time that he would be the first Louisian

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inmate to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia. On March eighteenth,

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twenty twenty five. The state did not disclose its new

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protocol for nitrogen gassing until over a week later. Mister Hoffman,

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a practicing Buddhists, diligently exhausted his administrative remedies and filed

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this suit less than a week after receiving his death warrant,

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challenging the state's method of execution under the Eighth Amendment.

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In the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, The

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Eighth Amendment forbids forms of execution that intensified death sentence

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with super additions of terror, pain, or disgrace. To succeed

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on the method of execution challenge under the Eighth Amendment,

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an inn may must show that a feasible, readily implemented

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alternative procedure would significantly reduce a substantial risk of severe pain.

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The District Court, after expedited discovery and a twelve hour hearing,

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concluded that mister Hoffman was likely to succeed on the

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merits of his Eighth Amendment claim and had entered a

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preliminary injunction based on its extensive findings of fact, which

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in turn were based on an expert and testimony. Relying

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on medical expert testimony, the District Court concluded that mister

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Hoffman was likely to succeed in showing that nitrogen gasing

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super ads physiological terror compared to execution by firing squad

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and then in parentheses, it says the readily available and

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feasible alternative mister Hoffman proposed number two, he would likely

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be horned absent a preliminary injunction, and three the equities

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and the public interests weighed against the state's rushed execution

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of mister Hoffman. A divided panel of the Fifth Circuit

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vacated the injunction on March fourteenth, twenty twenty five, in

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an opinion flatly inconsistent with this Court's precedent. As mister

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Hoffman explains in his petition, a majority of the Fifth

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Circuit panel misapplied the Eighth Amendment and ignored the District

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Court's factual findings on the central issue of psychological terror.

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The majority suggested a categorical rule that the Eighth Amendment

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requires a petitioner to show that the alternative method of

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execution is less physically painful than the chosen method, regardless

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of the psychological effect, while giving lip service to the

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Court's recognition to the super edition of terror that it

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can violate the Eighth Amendment. The panel majority also completely

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ignored mister Hoffman's r LUPA claim us by mister Hoffman

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as an alternative basis for affirming the court's injunction. Nitrogen

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hypoxia makes mister Hoffman's religious practice impossible, and then it

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goes on and it gives a conglomerate of reasons that

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mister Hafflins's attorneys felt the Fifth Circuit failed them for

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lack of a better word. So after that was filed,

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the state responded, and that's known as a brief in

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opposition to the application for stay. And in that statement

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of the opposition of application, the state said, in the

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interest of time and efficiency, the State here addresses only

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the core relevant facts and it expounds where necessary in

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the argument below. On the night before Thanksgiving nineteen ninety six,

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play If Jesse Hoffman kidnapped, robbed, and raped Mary Molly Elliott.

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The play if kidnapped Molly at gunpoint drover to an

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ATM forster to withdraw raw two hundred dollars and robbed her.

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The planiff subsequently raped Molly in the backseat of her

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own car in the remote area of Saint Timiny Parish.

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He then marched her steal naked down a dirt path

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which was overgrown with vegetation and full of trash used

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as a dump. Her death march ultimately ended at a

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small makeshift dock on the Middle Pearl River, where the

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planiff was forced to her knees and he shot her

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in the head execution style. Molly likely survived for a

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few minutes after being shot, but she was not discovered

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until after Thanksgiving Day, when a duck hunter came across

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her naked body on the dock. For his part, the

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planiff soon after took his girlfriend shopping with Molly's money.

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A jury convicted the planiff of first degree murder, and

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he was sentenced to death. His appeal was litigated to finality,

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and he exhausted all of his state and federal post

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conviction remedies. Although lethal injection was louis Suisiana's method of

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execution when the planet murdered Molly, drug companies have since

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made it extraordinarily difficult for states to obtain the necessary drugs.

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As a result, Louisiana and other states recently have turned

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to nitrogen hypoxia because there's no supply concerns with the nitrogen.

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For Louisiana, that time came in the spring of twenty

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twenty four, when legislatures amended and adopted nitrogen hypoxia as

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a method of execution. Nitrogen hypoxia is Louisiana's only current

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available method. Over the past year, Louisiana's Department of Public

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Safety and Correction constructed a nitrogen hypoxia system that mirrors

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Alabama and since twenty twenty four, Alabama itself has carried

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out successfully for nitrogen hypoxia executions. In general terms, the

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system delivers pure nitrogen to a full faced silicon mask

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with a plexiglass screen known as a source respirator. Industrial

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grade and superior to medical grade mask. Thick cushion material

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presses against the face and creates an air tight seal.

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The mask has a one way inlet valve allowing for

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airflow into the mask from the industrial tube that delivers

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both ambient air and nitrogen. The mask also allows for

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exhaling through another one way exhaust valve the plane. If

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appeared to complain the system uses industrial grade not medical

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grade nitrogen, he omits that medical grade nitrogen is comparatively

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inferior because it has more impurities than does Louisiana's ultra

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grade nitrogen. The state's expert is the only expert in

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the case who inspected and tested Louisiana's system. Specifically, he

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laid down on the gurney with the mask on at

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the intended flow rate, and he testified that he could

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breathe very comfortably with the mask on. He also took

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a video demonstrating how quickly pure nitrogen displaces oxygen in

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the mask by thirty seconds, the air inside the mask

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is only four point four percent, oxygen, one point eight

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percent by forty seconds, and so on. Almost immediately after

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legislature adopted nitrogen hypoxia, the PLANEFF attempted to reopen a

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dismissed as moot case challenging Louisiana's legal injection protocol. That

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case was dismissed a few years ago because Louisiana was

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and still is currently unable to obtain necessary drugs with

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nitrogen now permitted under Louisiana law. However, Planet filed a

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motion claiming that there has since been a material and

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extraordinary change of circumstances that gives rise to a live

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controversy between the parties for the next eight months. However,

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the District Court took no action on the motion, and

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the Planet refused to file this lawsuit. Indeed, it was

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not until the Planet's death warrant was issued in February

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of twenty twenty five that Hoffmann's docket bounced back. The

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District Court issued an order real opening the case on

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procedurally dubious grounds, as the fifth Circuit in this case

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would later observe. The state sought relief and secured an

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administrative state on the basis that this was an improper

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exercise of authority. Once the Planeff realized he would be

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unable to use his old case as a challenge to

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Louisiana's new method of execution, he filed this lawsuit on

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February twenty fifth, and sought on February twenty six to

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enjoin his execution. In the ensuing two weeks, the parties

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engaged in expedited discovery motions, practice and an evidentiary hearing

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on Friday, May seventh, followed by proposed findings and conclusions

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filed at nine am on March ninth. This case has

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substantially narrowed in the meantime because the District Court partially

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granted the state's motion to dismiss certain claims from the

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bench in its injunctive order that the Planeff was unlikely

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to succeed on certain other claims as things, and therefore

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the only life claim presented to the Fifth Circuit is

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the planet's Eighth Amendment challenge to nitrogen hypoxia. Here are

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a few key facts on that challenge. To begin, as

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District Court recognized both Planiff and the state's experts agree

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that nitrogen hypoxia does not produce physical pain. Planiff's case

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thus depends on alleged psychological pain. To that end, he

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testified he is a Buddhist and engages in meditative breathing

235
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twice a day, which requires concentrated deep breasts both inhaling

236
00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:36.000
and exhaling. He also testified he plans to use his

237
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breathing techniques during his execution. He put on a PTSD expert,

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doctor Sawter, who agreed that the Planiff has mastered his

239
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breathing techniques to control any PTSD issues. In so long

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as he can practice a breathing he will be able

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00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:56.000
to decrease his distrust. Planiff also put on another expert,

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doctor Bickler, who testified with normal breathing in especially with

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deep breasts, as the planet intends, unconsciousness will occur in

244
00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:08.000
less than one minute after the pure nitrogen begins to

245
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flow into the mask. Doctor Bickler also testified at least

246
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in the assisted suicide contacts, allowing the free flow of

247
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a gas into the lungs but with no oxygen, causes

248
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a gentle hypoxic death. His only excuse for taking the

249
00:18:23.480 --> 00:18:26.799
opposite position what respect to the use of nitrogen here

250
00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:30.799
was that it was very different contexts than forced asphyxiation

251
00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:35.119
with nitrogen in a death chamber. The state's expert agreed

252
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on the key facts. His opinion is that Louisiana system

253
00:18:38.640 --> 00:18:42.880
will cause unconsciousness within thirty five to forty seconds or

254
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perhaps sooner once the planet begins to inhale pure nitrogen,

255
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and he expects death to follow rapidly within ten to

256
00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:55.000
fifteen minutes. I do not believe they inmate would suffer

257
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any pain with that system, the expert said. First part,

258
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the planet oppose the firing squad in a drug cocktail

259
00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:09.880
known as DDMAPH as alternative methods to execution that renders

260
00:19:09.960 --> 00:19:14.759
nitrogen hypoxia unconstitutional. In granting the planet's motion for a

261
00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:20.960
preliminary injunction on March eleventh, the District Court rejected DDMAPH

262
00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:25.200
because the state cannot use drugs for execution purposes, but

263
00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:29.039
agreed that the firing squad is a suitable alternative. On

264
00:19:29.160 --> 00:19:33.400
March fourteenth, the Fifth Circuit vacated that injunction as not

265
00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:38.920
just wrong, but constitutionally backwards. Specifically, the Fifth Circuit rejected

266
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the idea that the Eighth Amendment somehow requires Louisiana to

267
00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:47.920
use admittingly more painful methods of execution, namely execution by

268
00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:52.640
firing squad rather than nitrogen hypoxia. The Fifth Circuit recognized

269
00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:56.759
that both sides experts testified about pain from the firing squad,

270
00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:01.480
while agreeing that nitrogen hypoxia is physical painless in some

271
00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:05.240
the District Court didn't just get the legal analysis wrong,

272
00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:08.240
it turned the Constitution on its head by relying on

273
00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:14.240
indisputably more painful method of execution than nitrogen hypoxia. Reasonable

274
00:20:14.279 --> 00:20:17.519
minds can differ on the proper understanding of the Eighth

275
00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:21.519
Amendment and in certain cases, but surely we can all

276
00:20:21.559 --> 00:20:25.079
agree that it does not require state officials to favor

277
00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:29.720
more painful methods of execution over less painful ones. Judge

278
00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:32.599
Hayne descended on the ground that there are issues that

279
00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:35.680
need more time to be resolved and decided. She also

280
00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:39.480
believed that the majority opinion does not adequately address the

281
00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:45.000
facts as properly found by the District Court. So that

282
00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:48.799
was their response, and long story short on that one

283
00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:55.680
Supreme Court did not rule on the case. They actually

284
00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:58.599
said the state pretty much got it right, and they

285
00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:03.039
weren't going to hear it. So the execution was on,

286
00:21:03.319 --> 00:21:09.039
and it had been fifteen years since Louisiana had executed someone.

287
00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:13.559
And as I mentioned earlier, some reporters are allowed into

288
00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:18.240
the chamber, and one in particular did a really fantastic

289
00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:21.519
job of covering from start to finish. I'm going to

290
00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:25.359
read that for you. It's from the Timespeaky Unit says

291
00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:31.359
Jesse Hoffman's final moments inside the Louisiana execution chamber at Angola,

292
00:21:31.400 --> 00:21:34.319
and it goes on to read A waft of spring

293
00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:38.839
flowers and low chant filled the entryway to Louisiana's execution

294
00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:43.759
building on Tuesday, as seven designated witnesses filed inside. The

295
00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:46.960
source of the channing soon became apparent. The condemned man's

296
00:21:46.960 --> 00:21:50.599
spiritual advisor, dressed in a black robe, appeared through a

297
00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:54.640
side window as prison officials led him into the death chamber.

298
00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:58.400
It was six seventeen pm inside Camp F at the

299
00:21:58.519 --> 00:22:01.880
Louisiana State Penitentiary in Gola, where no one has been

300
00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:07.079
executed since twenty ten. Laminated signs on the walls cautioned

301
00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:11.680
nitrogen hypoxia system is active and pressurized. A pair of

302
00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:14.400
meters on the wall in the viewing room put the

303
00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:18.079
air at a healthy twenty point seven percent oxygen, though

304
00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:21.200
was quiet and heavy as a pair of curtains rose.

305
00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:27.079
On Louisiana's first execution using nitrogen gas, Jesse Hoffman Junior

306
00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:30.880
appeared through a picture window. He was already stripped onto

307
00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:34.839
the execution table and draped in a plush gray blanket.

308
00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:39.039
A blue industrial gray respirator covered his face, leaving little

309
00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:42.240
of Hoffman to see as he laid an incline facing

310
00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:47.559
the window. Armsplayed in a cruciform table. Only a portion

311
00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:51.960
of his neck and hands were visible, thumbs touching forefingers

312
00:22:51.960 --> 00:22:56.000
in a sacred Buddhist pose as in Gola Warden. Darryl

313
00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:59.440
Venet reach for a microphone. Would you like to make

314
00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:02.759
a last statement? He said. Hoffman, forty six, tossed his

315
00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:05.279
head to the side and seemed to say nothing. He

316
00:23:05.359 --> 00:23:09.200
also declined a last meal. A president official later said,

317
00:23:09.359 --> 00:23:13.400
Vaney adjusted a valve on the mask covering Hoffman's face.

318
00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:17.160
The state will now carry out the execution of condemned

319
00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:20.839
inmate Jesse Hoffman. He said there would be no signal

320
00:23:20.880 --> 00:23:23.839
for when the ultra high grade nitrogen called in for

321
00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:27.680
Louisiana's new execution protocol would begin to enter the mask

322
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:30.960
and kill Hoffman. Official said, and a briefing later that

323
00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:33.160
had happened at six point twenty one pm, and that

324
00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:36.759
the gas ran for nineteen minutes. Tubing leed from a

325
00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:40.400
wall under the blanket at Hoffman's right hand. At six

326
00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:44.599
point twenty two pm, his breathing became uneven, his chest rose,

327
00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:47.519
and he made a jerking motion. A minute later, Hoffman's

328
00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:50.759
body shook and his fingers twisched. He appeared to pull

329
00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:53.839
at the arms of the table, which has bolted into

330
00:23:53.880 --> 00:23:57.720
a ceramic tile floor in the center block chamber. Hoffman's

331
00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:01.119
hands began to clinch, his head stayed turned to his right,

332
00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:05.759
his breathing slowed. Birds could be heard chirping under cloudless

333
00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:09.359
skies near dust from a witness room, which included only

334
00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:13.880
the state officials and news reporters, divided by a wall romoku.

335
00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:18.279
Gregory Smith, the Buddhist spiritual advisor Hoffman, chose to accompany

336
00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:20.880
his death, knelt on a rug a few feet away,

337
00:24:21.079 --> 00:24:24.640
rarely taking his eyes off of Hoffman. An oxygen mon

338
00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:28.960
arrested nearby on a seal. Hoffman's head remained tilted towards

339
00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:32.559
the room with the nitrogen tanks. At six twenty six pm,

340
00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:36.680
Hoffman's head moved inside the mass. Less than a minute later,

341
00:24:36.839 --> 00:24:40.960
a few seconds before six twenty seven pm, he jerked slightly.

342
00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:44.599
It would be the last significant movement Hoffman would make

343
00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:47.480
in a life he had mostly spent on death row.

344
00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:51.200
To his left, the nat stood in a charcoal suit

345
00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:55.799
and black loafers, beside an anonymous prison official. Minutes past,

346
00:24:55.920 --> 00:25:01.039
Hoffman's breathing slowed, then became imperceptible on the wall behind

347
00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:04.119
his head. A pair of red bones, installed in case

348
00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:07.960
of a need to communicate last minute reprieves remained still

349
00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:13.200
and silent while Hoffman died under bright fluorescent light. At

350
00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:16.440
six point thirty eight pm, Smith cast his eyes downward

351
00:25:16.519 --> 00:25:19.680
toward the floor as he knelt. A few minutes later,

352
00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:23.559
Finoid pressed a button and the curtains descended. Rythmic deep

353
00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:27.400
chanting and popping soon could be heard from the obscured chamber,

354
00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:30.960
part of Hoffman's state. Approve's spiritual sind off. The pops

355
00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:34.000
and chance continued for more than four minutes before they

356
00:25:34.039 --> 00:25:36.680
wind down. When the curtains rose again at six point

357
00:25:36.680 --> 00:25:39.960
fifty two pm, Smith had left the room, Westcott, the

358
00:25:39.960 --> 00:25:44.519
correction secretary, had entered it. Fenoy announced the execution was

359
00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:47.799
complete and placed the time of death at six point

360
00:25:47.799 --> 00:25:51.720
fifty pm. Hoffman's face had been made visible for the

361
00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:55.440
first time. The mass used to kill him was now removed.

362
00:25:55.960 --> 00:25:59.319
His head was tilted back, teeth exposed in a grimace

363
00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:08.359
as the curtains slowly descended once more. Pretty descriptive. Now

364
00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:12.000
in the clip I'm about to play you the age

365
00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:16.519
for Louisiana, Liz Muhral did something I really liked to see.

366
00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:20.640
She held a press conference and she highlighted the victim

367
00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:23.200
in this case as she held up a large picture

368
00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:26.880
and really did a good job of keeping the perspective

369
00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:30.000
where it needed to be in my view, which is

370
00:26:30.160 --> 00:26:33.640
on the victim. And here's what that sounded like.

371
00:26:33.960 --> 00:26:40.440
This was Mary Margaret Murphy Elliot. She was known to

372
00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:47.480
her friends as Molly. On November twenty eighth, nineteen ninety six,

373
00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:53.160
on Thanksgiving Day, a duck hunter found Molly Elliott's naked

374
00:26:53.240 --> 00:26:57.839
dead body abandoned on a makeshift doc where she had

375
00:26:57.880 --> 00:27:04.799
been shot in the head executions style after being kidnapped, robbed, terrorized,

376
00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:09.960
raped and marched to this desolate spot for her death.

377
00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:14.559
Molly was brutally and mercilessly raped and murdered. She was

378
00:27:14.599 --> 00:27:19.599
only twenty eight years old. That was nearly thirty years ago.

379
00:27:20.799 --> 00:27:25.039
Tonight justice was served for Molly Elliott and for the

380
00:27:25.079 --> 00:27:31.119
state of Louisiana. Molly's husband told USA Today, Molly was

381
00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:35.720
a cherished person who missed out on motherhood, a promising

382
00:27:35.799 --> 00:27:39.359
and successful career, and a life in the country on

383
00:27:39.400 --> 00:27:42.839
the property we bought together. Hers was a life that

384
00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:45.960
was so full of hope and promise for a beautiful future.

385
00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:49.880
The loss of Molly is a scar we will forever carry,

386
00:27:50.359 --> 00:27:54.519
and it will never heal. Governor Landry and I made

387
00:27:54.559 --> 00:27:57.440
a promise to the citizens of Louisiana and the family

388
00:27:57.480 --> 00:28:00.440
members of the victims of these heinous crimes, that we

389
00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:03.920
would put them first and that we would follow the law.

390
00:28:05.240 --> 00:28:09.039
The last execution in Louisiana was in twenty ten of

391
00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:13.359
Gerald Bordelawn, who waived all of his final appeals. Justice

392
00:28:13.400 --> 00:28:17.200
has been delayed for these victims and their families for

393
00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:22.839
far too long. I, along with my office, remain committed

394
00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:27.079
to ensuring that justice is carried out in all the

395
00:28:27.119 --> 00:28:31.960
death penalty cases. Jesse Hoffman was convicted and sentenced to

396
00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:36.079
death by a jury for his heinous crimes. He received

397
00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:41.880
multiple appeals. He received even more appeals and review in

398
00:28:41.960 --> 00:28:46.720
the last several days. Now he faces his ultimate judge

399
00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:48.480
judgment before God.

400
00:28:53.680 --> 00:28:55.799
This time we'll open it up to questions. We will

401
00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:57.440
start from the last data this sort.

402
00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:05.079
Can anyone at the prison speak to how sort of

403
00:29:05.559 --> 00:29:08.440
raw was affected on the staff.

404
00:29:08.119 --> 00:29:12.880
And Christeners in the days leading up to their secution? Yeah,

405
00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:16.160
do you want to know them? Can we get more

406
00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:27.640
quarter quarter going? Come on up, dip, good evening.

407
00:29:27.680 --> 00:29:34.039
Our staff is our professionals. Their morale was not effected affected,

408
00:29:34.480 --> 00:29:36.440
you know, I'm sure, I'm sure that they all had

409
00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:40.279
their own views. But I'm so proud of my team,

410
00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:45.799
my staff, everyone was so professional. They showed mister Harper

411
00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:50.400
dignity and respect and did their jobs and I am

412
00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:56.440
proud of them. The death row inmates, Uh, today, they

413
00:29:56.480 --> 00:30:00.200
were kind of quiet, but that's to be expected. I've

414
00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:03.839
showed that in the past. But no problems, very respectful,

415
00:30:04.640 --> 00:30:10.680
just kind of quiet and solve them today.

416
00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:17.200
Were any of them family as they were not? But

417
00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:19.599
with the governor and I've both been in contact with them,

418
00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:24.119
as have people from the District Attorney's office in Saint

419
00:30:24.160 --> 00:30:28.440
Tammany and the detectives who investigate this case from the outset,

420
00:30:28.519 --> 00:30:30.640
So they've been in close contact with the family.

421
00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:36.200
Commissioner Warden. Any problems that you guys, obviously, this is

422
00:30:36.200 --> 00:30:39.119
something that's brand new to you guys, using as a

423
00:30:39.359 --> 00:30:40.599
as an execution tool.

424
00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:44.240
Is there anything that you ran into, any concerns and

425
00:30:44.440 --> 00:30:47.640
problems witness being carried out for the very first time.

426
00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:53.000
I'll say my staff, as everybody knows, we followed the

427
00:30:53.000 --> 00:30:54.200
protocol of Alabama.

428
00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:54.880
Again.

429
00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:57.720
We let them lead the way and we followed them.

430
00:30:57.960 --> 00:31:01.240
We actually probably did a little bit better than they

431
00:31:01.279 --> 00:31:03.720
did with some of the equipment we did, and we've

432
00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:04.799
made some tweaks.

433
00:31:04.440 --> 00:31:05.880
To what they did. It.

434
00:31:05.880 --> 00:31:08.160
It was flawless. It went about as good as we

435
00:31:08.200 --> 00:31:10.200
can expect we expected.

436
00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:10.119
It to be.

437
00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:13.119
We had no problems. We are, like the warden said,

438
00:31:13.359 --> 00:31:16.599
our staff is trained for this, uh and it went.

439
00:31:16.839 --> 00:31:19.400
It went about as flawless as we could expect it

440
00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:22.400
to be. There was no there was nothing that happened

441
00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:23.240
that we want to work for.

442
00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:27.079
And right.

443
00:31:27.519 --> 00:31:31.480
So what is your message to the people outside, people

444
00:31:31.480 --> 00:31:34.359
who are there with individuals and saying not and it's

445
00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:37.039
not just what the it made, but it also the victim.

446
00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:40.240
But they're saying they want the definitely not to.

447
00:31:40.240 --> 00:31:43.599
Be in the museum. That's takular.

448
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:48.200
Yeah, that's a legislative policy issue. And certainly they are

449
00:31:48.279 --> 00:31:52.480
free to advocate and to pray and to continue to

450
00:31:52.559 --> 00:31:56.119
support whatever their views are. But this is the law

451
00:31:56.119 --> 00:31:58.079
of Louisiana, and we carried out the law of the

452
00:31:58.119 --> 00:32:01.599
State of Louisiana.

453
00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:04.920
So you said that you had authorities have bit in

454
00:32:05.039 --> 00:32:08.440
touch with the family of Molly Elliott, and they were

455
00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:13.359
not unanimously and they were carrying out this execution. So

456
00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:17.079
what do you say to the family not a favor

457
00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:21.839
of execution in this case as well as other cases

458
00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:26.039
going forward, and leave you hear the concern and family

459
00:32:26.079 --> 00:32:27.839
members of victims who don't want.

460
00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:28.359
It the execution.

461
00:32:29.559 --> 00:32:34.759
I can tell you that Molly Elliott's immediate family members

462
00:32:36.680 --> 00:32:39.519
did not oppose this moving forward. They are grateful to

463
00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:43.559
have finality and I was in direct communication with them

464
00:32:44.039 --> 00:32:48.400
during this process. So you know, other people might have

465
00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:51.079
their opinions, but I don't think it was the opinion

466
00:32:51.119 --> 00:32:53.279
of the immediate family members. I think they're grateful to

467
00:32:53.279 --> 00:32:56.759
have finality. What was frustrating for them is that it

468
00:32:56.759 --> 00:33:03.160
took thirty years. Yeah, yeah, so will those executioners speed

469
00:33:03.200 --> 00:33:06.799
up the process of other indix who our development. We

470
00:33:06.880 --> 00:33:10.440
certainly expect to go back and look at how to

471
00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:13.119
make sure that we move these cases along. I've already

472
00:33:13.160 --> 00:33:16.559
been looking at that, looking at every case and what

473
00:33:16.640 --> 00:33:20.000
the status is of every case. Some of these cases

474
00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:25.440
have been sitting for a couple of decades with motions

475
00:33:25.519 --> 00:33:29.200
that the defense attorneys frank frankly should have moved forward

476
00:33:29.240 --> 00:33:32.640
a long time ago, a long time ago. We'll address

477
00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:35.200
those issues as we can, but yes, we expect to

478
00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:40.279
move more forward. Going off of that, Since you guys

479
00:33:40.279 --> 00:33:42.119
say this is you know, this is a Christians as

480
00:33:42.240 --> 00:33:43.680
the executions for ten.

481
00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:46.839
Years, how soon do you expect the next execution?

482
00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:50.400
How many executions are you expected to be carried out this?

483
00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:54.519
I couldn't answer that. They're at all different stages in litigation.

484
00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:59.599
And and because this one did move forward, there have

485
00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:02.279
been new filings in a lot of these cases and

486
00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:04.319
we just have to go sort that out in the court.

487
00:34:04.359 --> 00:34:08.440
So it's really it's really impossible to say, but my staff,

488
00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:11.039
my team and I really want to compliment all of

489
00:34:11.039 --> 00:34:15.119
the lawyers that work together with the District Attorney's office

490
00:34:15.159 --> 00:34:19.719
in Saint Tammany, with my office. Really all kind of

491
00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:23.280
came together because there were filings in multiple courts for

492
00:34:23.400 --> 00:34:27.000
the last few days, and you know, I think that

493
00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:29.159
that will continue to happen, but we're going to start

494
00:34:29.199 --> 00:34:32.760
working our way through motions and begin to clear the

495
00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:36.880
underbrush and move these cases forward. Every everybody deserves the

496
00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:39.440
justice that the state promised to them in these cases,

497
00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:42.960
and I think that it's important for us to be

498
00:34:43.039 --> 00:34:44.119
able to move them forward.

499
00:34:47.199 --> 00:34:50.840
As you, earl, you've advocated for this policy for a

500
00:34:50.840 --> 00:34:51.320
long time.

501
00:34:52.840 --> 00:34:56.159
Did you face the potential of witnessing execution?

502
00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:57.360
So did you wrestle with that.

503
00:34:59.079 --> 00:35:01.719
I certainly had the opp tinnity to I sat by

504
00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:04.559
a phone because I was somebody had to sit by

505
00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:07.639
the telephone. So I sat and waited by the phone

506
00:35:07.639 --> 00:35:09.880
in case there was something that I needed to communicate

507
00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:14.159
to the room. My staff was present, there were a

508
00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:18.199
number of people who were present, but somebody had to

509
00:35:18.199 --> 00:35:21.039
sit by the phone, and so I sat by the phone.

510
00:35:22.639 --> 00:35:23.800
No two part questions.

511
00:35:23.840 --> 00:35:26.119
I know that you gave the timeline as to when

512
00:35:26.159 --> 00:35:28.239
the lethal guys started blowing up.

513
00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:29.440
When he was nail step.

514
00:35:30.480 --> 00:35:34.119
Did it actually take all thirty minutes for him to die?

515
00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:39.840
And also did he exhibit any visible sign of distress

516
00:35:40.039 --> 00:35:41.920
while the execution was being carried out.

517
00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:46.760
My chief of prison operation set Smith as a medical background,

518
00:35:46.840 --> 00:35:48.800
and he's the one that was in the room watching,

519
00:35:48.800 --> 00:35:49.960
So I'm gonna turn it over to.

520
00:35:49.920 --> 00:35:52.840
Him, okay to answer that. And like I said, I

521
00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:55.400
have a medical background. What is your name, Sir Seth

522
00:35:55.639 --> 00:36:00.360
A ctch Smith. I've got a degree in nursing, and

523
00:36:00.400 --> 00:36:02.519
I wore practiced and had a license up until a

524
00:36:02.519 --> 00:36:05.039
twenty ten, which time I let it lapse. So I

525
00:36:05.119 --> 00:36:06.679
was a nurse for over a decade. I've seen a

526
00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:09.360
lot of deaths. I was even hospice administrator for some

527
00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:13.480
point in time six twenty one, the gas was turned on,

528
00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:16.360
the nitrogen was turned on around six twenty three. He

529
00:36:16.440 --> 00:36:19.679
did have some convulsive activity, and I was told he

530
00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:21.559
may have had even some fine motor stuff after that

531
00:36:21.559 --> 00:36:24.280
that I personally didn't see from my angle. Nothing that

532
00:36:24.280 --> 00:36:26.199
I would say is consistent with pain, Nothing that I

533
00:36:26.239 --> 00:36:29.679
would say is inconsistent with death. You know, when the

534
00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:33.079
normal dying process, people do things such as agonal respirations,

535
00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:35.360
they will raise up, they will do things like that,

536
00:36:35.599 --> 00:36:38.800
even somebody that's terminal illness with high doses of morphine

537
00:36:38.880 --> 00:36:41.119
things like that in their system. So you know you

538
00:36:41.119 --> 00:36:45.559
can he did move, He did shake very briefly. And

539
00:36:45.599 --> 00:36:47.880
when you asked you to take the entire time, our

540
00:36:47.920 --> 00:36:50.880
protocol calls for us to go five minutes after flatlin.

541
00:36:51.320 --> 00:36:53.639
And you don't go from a normal rhythm, your heart's

542
00:36:53.639 --> 00:36:55.239
beat and everything's lucky dory.

543
00:36:55.320 --> 00:36:56.039
To flatline.

544
00:36:56.239 --> 00:36:59.400
You go through various phases where actually you're dead. You know,

545
00:36:59.440 --> 00:37:02.079
we waited till there was no electrical activity in the heart,

546
00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:06.199
which took I want to say, fourteen minutes, and then

547
00:37:06.199 --> 00:37:09.360
we went five minutes beyond that. So we went nineteen minutes,

548
00:37:10.400 --> 00:37:15.280
but he, in essence was clinically dead very quickly, very quickly,

549
00:37:15.320 --> 00:37:17.519
say I ask you a question, Well, okay.

550
00:37:17.400 --> 00:37:17.719
Thank you.

551
00:37:18.559 --> 00:37:22.360
So following that, the governor of the state of Louisiana,

552
00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:26.480
Jeff Landry, he also issued his statement those short and

553
00:37:26.559 --> 00:37:30.199
here's how that wreck. It is unfortunate that bad people exist,

554
00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:33.679
and they do real bad things. When these acts of

555
00:37:33.760 --> 00:37:37.760
violence happened, society must not tolerate it. God is as

556
00:37:38.079 --> 00:37:40.760
just as he is merciful. And my hope is that

557
00:37:40.840 --> 00:37:44.480
when Louisiana empties death Row, there will never be another

558
00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:48.199
victim whose perpetrator must be placed there. In Louisiana, we

559
00:37:48.239 --> 00:37:53.000
will always prioritize victims over criminal law and order over lawlessness,

560
00:37:53.159 --> 00:37:56.559
and justice over the status quo. If you commit hanous

561
00:37:56.639 --> 00:38:00.159
acts of violence in this state, it will cost you

562
00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:06.599
your life, plain simple one. That from Jeff Landry. So

563
00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:10.639
there you have it, and now that justice has been

564
00:38:10.800 --> 00:38:15.280
served using this new method, and I would suspect more

565
00:38:15.480 --> 00:38:19.599
will be rolling out in short order, and of course

566
00:38:19.760 --> 00:38:24.039
I will keep you posted on that. Thank you so

567
00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:27.440
much for listening. Check out the Patreon page for commercial,

568
00:38:27.480 --> 00:38:32.199
free early releases. More and until next time. I'm Jim

569
00:38:32.280 --> 00:38:36.079
Chapman for Bloody and Gola, a podcast one and forty

570
00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:39.719
two years in the making, the complete story of America's

571
00:38:39.719 --> 00:38:42.280
bloodiest present Peace.

572
00:38:58.119 --> 00:39:08.280
Off the street line, shackle change, Oh gluesome gird, it's

573
00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:14.760
calling my name. There is no mercy and it's been

574
00:39:14.960 --> 00:39:24.320
a tentery juice as the hill stream game wrangle the three.

575
00:39:24.960 --> 00:39:26.119
I'm here, be.

576
00:39:28.239 --> 00:39:36.519
By me to die inside these walls, inside the wild,

577
00:39:38.440 --> 00:39:55.639
and when more girls, I'm no insul bloody angle, obody

578
00:39:56.000 --> 00:40:08.880
angle a