Photo: Tero Vesalainen / iStock / Getty Images
A New Orleans man is dead after the state carried out its first execution in 15 years.
Jessie Hoffman was put to death yesterday at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola..
He received the death penalty for kidnapping Molly Elliot, 28, in New Orleans, then raping and killing her in St. Tammany Parish in 1996.
The 46-year-old was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m, almost half-an-hour after the execution started.
Hoffman was put to death using pure nitrogen gas, and while the warden says it was a flawless execution, a corrections official says he showed convulsive activity.
There were no final words, and Hoffman declined a last meal.
"Tonight, justice was served for Molly and the State of Louisiana," said state attorney general Liz Murril. "Gov. Jeff Landry and I made a promise to the citizens of Louisiana and to the family members of victims of these heinous crimes that we would follow the law and put them first."
Death penalty opponents held a vigil for Hoffman outside Angola Tuesday night. Lauren Sapp said no life is beyond redemption and no soul is beyond grace.
Alison McCrary was Hoffman's spiritual adviser, and she says he had a level of depth rarely found in people. McCrary told NOLA.com she wishes people could see Jessie is not the same person he was when he was 18.
Copyright © 2025 TTWN Media Networks Inc.