Death of 81-Year-Old Inmate Christopher Sepulvado Highlights…

Christopher Sepulvado, an 81-year-old inmate scheduled for execution next month for the murder of his stepson, has died at Angola prison. His attorney, Shawn Nolan, criticized the moral implications of executing a terminally ill man. Sepulvado was set to be the first executed by nitrogen hypoxia in Louisiana. Jessie Hoffman is next on the execution list, facing similar legal challenges to the new method.

Christopher Sepulvado, an 81-year-old man facing execution next month for the 1992 murder of his stepson, has died at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, as confirmed by his attorney. Last week, Sepulvado underwent the amputation of a gangrenous leg and was deemed terminally ill by doctors, prompting hospice care just prior to his scheduled execution date of March 17, 2023.

Shawn Nolan, Mr. Sepulvado’s attorney, expressed deep concern about the moral implications of the death penalty in Louisiana, stating, “The idea that the State was planning to strap this tiny, frail, dying old man to a chair and force him to breathe toxic gas into his failing lungs is simply barbaric.”

Mr. Sepulvado was slated to be the first individual executed in Louisiana via nitrogen hypoxia, a method approved by state lawmakers and Governor Jeff Landry in 2022. The last execution in Louisiana occurred in 2010 when Gerald Bordelon was put to death by lethal injection for the murder of his stepdaughter.

Next on the execution roster is Jessie Hoffman, 46, scheduled to die on March 18 for the 1996 murder and rape of Mary “Molly” Elliot. Legal challenges regarding Louisiana’s new execution method have been filed on behalf of ten death row inmates; currently, there are 57 individuals facing the death penalty in the state.

On February 12, DeSoto Parish Judge Amy Burford McCartney issued a death warrant for Mr. Sepulvado in connection with the 1992 killing of 6-year-old Wesley Allen Mercer. Authorities stated that the child was beaten and scalded to death while his mother, Yvonne Jones, was convicted of manslaughter.

Previously, Sepulvado’s lethal injection execution in 2013 was halted due to insufficient information regarding the drugs involved, which was deemed cruel and unusual punishment by a federal judge. Multiple execution dates followed but were suspended as his legal team pursued various challenges to lethal injection methods, culminating in a recent motion denied by a federal judge in November 2022.

The death of Christopher Sepulvado while awaiting execution underscores the contentious nature of the death penalty in Louisiana, particularly concerning its implementation on aging and ill inmates. His case raises critical ethical questions about capital punishment methods and the state’s responsibility towards those facing execution. As legal challenges to the new execution protocol continue, the situation reflects broader issues surrounding the death penalty in the region.

Original Source: www.news-journal.com