Fifth Circuit overturns injunction on execution of Jessie Hoffman
NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals late Friday overturned a judge's injunction stopping the execution of Jessie Hoffman, which is set for Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick had put Hoffman's execution on hold Tuesday after a hearing centering on whether nitrogen hypoxia could be deemed a cruel or unusual punishment forbidden under the U.S. Constitution.
Hoffman is scheduled to be the first prisoner to be executed in Louisiana since 2010, and the first in the state to be killed by the inhalation of nitrogen gas.
He was sentenced to death in the 1996 rape and murder of 28-year-old Mary "Molly" Elliott.
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Hoffman's attorney, Cecelia Kappel, issued a statement to WBRZ saying the ruling will be appealed to the Supreme Court and they'll seek a stay of Hoffman's execution.