The husband of a murdered Louisiana woman said the execution of her killer would not provide closure, as attorneys for the convicted killer fight to take death by nitrogen gas off the table.
Jessie Hoffman Jr. faces a death sentence for the 1996 rape and murder of 28-year-old Mary "Molly" Elliott. Hoffman has been slated to die March 18, but a judge has temporarily blocked the execution. Defense attorneys have challenged the state's planned use of nitrogen gas.
"The reality is this: after this much time passing, I've become indifferent to the death penalty vs. life in prison without possibility of parole. However, I'm not indifferent to the uncertainty that has accompanied these many years," Andy Elliott wrote in a statement quoted by NOLA.com. "If putting him to death is the easiest way to end the uncertainty, then on balance I favor that solution. But, his death will not provide closure."
The night of the murder, Hoffman forced Molly Elliott to withdraw $200 from an ATM. Afterward, he drove to a boat launch and executed her. Her nude body was found by a duck hunter on Thanksgiving, NOLA.com reported.
"Anyone who has experienced a tragedy of this magnitude will recognize the absolute truth — Molly's and my families and friends lost a great human being to a senseless series of crimes, the reasons for which we still don't know. The pain is something we simply have learned to live with. That pain cannot be decreased by another death, nor by commuting the sentence of Molly's assailant to life in prison," Andy Elliot wrote, according to NOLA.com.
Hoffman was going to be the first person executed in Louisiana by nitrogen gas hypoxia. During the execution, a gas mask is placed over the face, and the person breathes in nitrogen. Prosecutors in Lousiana maintain that the person loses consciousness rapidly, making it a relatively fast and painless execution method.
Hoffamn's attorneys have challenged these assertions and sought what they call a more "humane" option for execution, CNN reported.
Additionally, they have argued that as a Buddhist, Hoffman will not be able to use his breathing and meditation techniques, violating his constitutional rights, CNN reported. They also argue that Hoffman is claustrophobic and has post-traumatic stress disorder and that the nitrogen gas mask would cause mental torture.
Nitrogen gas is a relatively new execution method. Alabama was the first state to use it in January 2024 in the execution of 58-year-old Kenneth Smith, WBRZ-2 reported.
"When they turned the nitrogen on, he began to convulse. He popped up on the gurney over and over and over again. It's wrong to experiment on people. But that's what I saw," Smith's spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeff Hood, told the station.
