A court battle is gearing up over whether Louisiana’s nitrogen gas execution protocol is a public record as the federal courts weigh a case that could determine whether the state

Attorneys argued that nitrogen gas executions are "cruel and unusual punishment," noting that veterinarians have banned them for euthanizing animals.

Jessie Hoffman, who is scheduled to be executed by nitrogen gas on March 18, has filed a new federal lawsuit challenging Louisiana's execution protocol, claiming it may violate the Eighth Amendment.

The State of Louisiana plans to execute the first death row inmate in more than a decade and the first by nitrogen gas, but the inmate’s attorneys are trying to stop it.