The sign signifying death row at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. Photo credit: Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
We’re getting a minute-by-minute account of how the execution of Jessie Hoffman unfolded.
Hoffman was executed Tuesday evening at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola.
Gina Swanson, a reporter for WDSU-TV New Orleans; and John Simerman, a reporter with the New Orleans Times-Picayune and The Advocate, were the two reporters among seven people total who witnessed the execution.
The following timeline is based on their detailed accounts.
6:13 – Swanson and Simerman were retrieved from their holding area and were escorted to the building where the execution was to take place.
6:17 – Witnesses were let into the building and could hear sounds of Buddhist chanting.
6:18 – Witnesses were seated; the two reporters were seated separately from the other five witnesses, separated by a partition.
6:20 – Curtain opens. Hoffman is already strapped to the gurney with the gas mask covering his face and a plush gray blanket covering his body. His hands were visible. Along with Hoffman, there were three other people in the room: Hoffman’s spiritual advisor, Warden Darrell Vannoy and Chief of Operations Seth Smith. Vannoy asked Hoffman if he had any last words, and Hoffman nodded no.
6:21 – The remaining hole on Hoffman’s mask is plugged in, and the nitrogen gas starts flowing. Hoffman starts twitching, his eyes start blinking, and his chest was moving up and down.
6:22 – Hoffman starts breathing heavily.
6:23 – Hoffman’s hands clench up and his body starts convulsing.
6:24 – Hoffman’s breathing becomes more shallow, based on the movement of the blanket.
6:27 – Hoffman’s body slightly twitches for the last time. Hoffman’s head is tilted to the right side.
6:40 – Curtain closes.
6:41 – Spiritual advisor starts chanting.
6:42 – Spiritual advisor’s chants change from upbeat to more solemn.
6:45 – Chanting stops.
6:52 – Curtain reopens. The gas mask is removed from Hoffman’s face, and his mouth is slightly open. Vannoy announces that Hoffman was pronounced dead at 6:50.
6:53 – Witnesses were escorted out.
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