Louisiana resumes executions after 15-year pause, approves use of nitrogen gas method

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections has finalized and implemented a protocol allowing sentences for death row inmates to be carried out using the nitrogen hypoxia method, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Monday.

The new protocol will allow for death sentences to be carried out again after a 15-year pause and builds on a constitutionally approved method already in place in Alabama.

A summary of Alabama’s protocol allows for the condemned person to communicate with a spiritual adviser. It also allows for "designated victim relationship witnesses."

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The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola will carry out the executions and is responsible for checking all aspects of the system.

"Once escorted to the death chamber, medical monitors will be attached to the inmate to evaluate the relevant vital signs," the summary says. "The inmate will be offered the opportunity to make a final statement, and then, the specialized mask for administration of the nitrogen will be fitted onto the inmate."

The statement says the coroner will confirm the death, then the warden will issue a statement confirming the death.

Alabama executed a man using nitrogen gas last year, marking the first use of the method in the US since the introduction of lethal injection in 1982. The state has since executed three more people by that method.

The Protocol for Executions of Death Sentences includes the procedures for the nitrogen hypoxia method recently approved by the Louisiana Legislature with bipartisan support.

"For too long, Louisiana has failed to uphold the promises made to victims of our State’s most violent crimes; but that failure of leadership by previous administrations is over," Landry said. "The time for broken promises has ended; we will carry out these sentences and justice will be dispensed." 

"These capital punishment cases have been reviewed at every judicial level, have had decades of unsuccessful appeals, and the death sentences affirmed by the courts," Landry continued. "I expect our DA’s to finalize these cases and the courts to move swiftly to bring justice to the crime victims who have waited for too long." 

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Approximately 60 inmates are on death row in Louisiana, but executions have stalled due to legal challenges and drug shortages.

Also on the list of state sanctioned execution methods is electrocution – sponsored by State Rep. Nicholas Muscarello. Louisiana last carried out a death by electrocution 34 years ago. That method was abandoned after legal challenges became an issue, forcing the state to retire it.

As of now, there is no set date or plan for when the state will carry out the first execution as death penalty cases often are tied up in litigation for years.

State Attorney General Liz Murrill has sided with Landry and praised the state's move toward resuming executions.

"Those sentenced to death have been convicted by a jury of their peers for the most heinous and barbaric crimes imaginable. These are the worst of the worst," she said in a statement. "Governor Landry and I are committed to moving this process forward to finally get justice for victims."

State Rep. Debbie Villio, R-Kenner, also released a statement supporting Landry. 

"Justice for the victims is long overdue. I fully support Landry in his efforts and his administration in following the law as overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature," she said.