Supreme Court declines to halt execution over religious claims as Gorsuch joins liberals in dissent

A sharply divided Supreme Court declined Tuesday to halt the execution of a death row inmate in Louisiana who argued that the use of nitrogen gas would interfere with his Buddhist beliefs – an argument that drew interest from one of the court’s conservatives.

A sharply divided Supreme Court declined Tuesday to halt the execution of a death row inmate in Louisiana who argued that the use of nitrogen gas would interfere with his Buddhist beliefs – an argument that drew interest from one of the court’s conservatives. Jessie Hoffman claimed that the state’s method of execution would interfere with his ability to engage in meditative breathing as he died, a practice his lawyers told the Supreme Court “carries profound spiritual significance.” As is often the case on its emergency docket, the Supreme Court did not explain its reasoning for denying Hoffman’s request to halt his execution. However, Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative, joined with the court’s three liberals in dissenting from the decision. Gorsuch, among the court’s most outspoken defenders of religious rights, said that lower courts should have looked more closely at Hoffman’s religious claim. Gorsuch said he would have sent the case back to the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals for reconsideration. “Perhaps that claim ulti­mately lacks merit,” Gorsuch wrote. “But the Fifth Circuit’s unexplained omission leaves this court poorly positioned to assess it.” Hoffman was convicted in the 1996 murder of Mary “Molly” Elliott.