A New Orleans-area group decries the state’s efforts to use nitrogen gas to execute death row inmates because, members say, such a method echoes the Holocaust.

A federal judge halted Louisiana from immediately moving forward with the state's nitrogen gas execution of death row inmate Jessie Hoffman Jr.

A federal judge blocked Louisiana’s first nitrogen gas execution, citing concerns over cruel and unusual punishment. The state immediately appealed, arguing the method has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.