Louisiana’s Jewish community has formed an alliance committed to protesting and ultimately repealing a new state law allowing the use of gas as an execution method.

The Jews Against Gassing Coalition was formed after the March 5 passage of House Bill 6, which added the electric chair and nitrogen hypoxia as alternatives to lethal injection for Death Row inmates.

The group gathered May 6 at the state Capitol in Baton Rouge to observe Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Memorial Day, and to urge legislative support for a pending bill to remove gas as an execution method in Louisiana.

“It is unfortunate that we need to be hosting this event on the Capitol steps today. But it is necessary, on the same day we remember past atrocities, to speak out to prevent the state from utilizing a means of execution that evokes memories of the method that was used to kill so many of our ancestors,” said Rabbi Phil Kaplan of Congregation Beth Israel in New Orleans.

“The use of poison gas for state-sanctioned execution unmistakably and immediately evokes for millions of American Jews horrific memories of the depravities our ancestors suffered at the hands of Nazi Germany, where lethal gas as was used to mass murder our people.”

Nitrogen hypoxia made national and international headlines in January when Alabama became the first state known to execute a prisoner using the agent. Death penalty opponents around the world denounced Kenny Smith’s Jan. 25 execution as cruel, inhumane and experimental.

The state’s prediction Smith would quickly pass out after inhaling the nitrogen gas did not turn out to be the case, AL.com reported in a video: “Media witnesses saw that Ken Smith appeared to be conscious for several minutes after the gas began to flow before he proceeded to shake and writhe on that gurney for about 2 minutes. That 2 minutes of shaking and writhing on the gurney was followed by about 5 to 7 minutes of heavy breathing.”

The Equal Justice initiative pounced on the disparity between the state’s promise the gas would induce a quick and painless death and the fact it took Smith from 7:53 p.m. to 8:25 p.m. to die: “Mr. Smith clenched his fists and his legs shook. As Mr. Smith gasped for air, his body lifted against the restraints. Witnesses observed fluid inside of the mask. What witnesses observed last night are clear signs of distress and suffering.”

The United Nations swiftly condemned the execution as barbaric. “The use, for the first time in humans and on an experimental basis, of a method of execution that has been shown to cause suffering in animals is simply outrageous.”

Using Smith “as a human guinea pig to test a new method of execution amounted to unethical human experimentation and was nothing short of State-sanctioned torture,” the U.N. added. “The gruesome death inflicted on Smith is also likely to have caused extreme distress and suffering to his relatives.”

Smith devoted his last words to echo that sentiment and to reflect on the damage done to the state’s moral fabric, according to the federal Defender Services Office: “Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backward. …  I’m leaving with love, peace and light. Thank you for supporting me, love all of you.”

“Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backward.

Religious groups swung into action in early March when Louisiana legislators, acting in special legislative session convened by Gov. Jeff Landry, voted to emulate Alabama’s use of nitrogen hypoxia. Leaders from a cross-section of faith organizations gathered on the Capitol steps to blast the legislation as “inexcusably cruel.”

And their voices were heard. Baton Rouge Public Radio recently reported the use of nitrogen hypoxia “is getting some pushback late in the legislative session.” Senate Bill 430, which would strike the use of gas from the state’s lineup of execution methods, passed out of committee unanimously in April.

The Jews Against Gassing Coalition ascribed the shift to legislators’ emerging awareness of the connection between gas and genocide.

“We realized after speaking to many legislators in the past few weeks that they didn’t realize how it would feel for us as Jews to add gassing as some method of execution,” said Jacqueline Stern, an executive board member with the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. “They didn’t make the association with the Holocaust, but after it was brought up to them, it was undeniable and they understood our coalition’s perspective.”

Opposition to the use of nitrogen hypoxia for executions is rooted in the historical experience, moral teachings and commitment to justice of the Jewish community, said Aaron Bloch, director of Jewish multicultural and governmental affairs for the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.

“The use of lethal gas in executions evokes painful memories of the Holocaust, where millions of Jews and others were murdered in gas chambers,” he explained. “And while we do not suggest comparisons to the atrocities of Nazi Germany under which millions of our relatives were murdered, still, we cannot imagine that Jewish communities anywhere can stand by while prisoners are executed in our names using any variation of that mechanism.”

Related articles:

Global condemnation falls on Alabama for experimental capital punishment method

Condemning Alabama for using an experimental drug to execute a prisoner misses the point, author warns

Special to the American Press

Louisiana Pre-K-12 education improved in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best States rankings. Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education in Louisiana moved from 41st to 40th, which marks the state’s highest ranking in this national indicator. This comes a year after Louisiana Pre-K-12 education jumped five places in these same rankings.

“This positive growth reflects the efforts of students and teachers,” said Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. “While I’m encouraged, I also realize we have more work ahead to provide a high-quality education for every student.”

Louisiana has benefitted from the state’s fundamental shift in how students are taught to read, a focus on foundational math skills, an emphasis on career and college readiness, and bold policy decisions that support a back to the basics approach to education.

“Louisiana’s steady climb in this ranking reflects the hard work of educators and their unwavering focus on positive outcomes for students,” said BESE President Ronnie Morris. “The consistent progress we’re seeing in measures of K-12 performance confirms that our state is on the right track, and underscores the productive partnership between educators, policymakers and stakeholders that has been essential to driving success. We must continue working together in support of the good work of students and schools to keep this momentum going.”

This is the latest data to show the continued progress of Louisiana students:

• Louisiana is one of three states where average reading achievement in 2023 was above 2019 levels.
• Louisiana ranked at the top of a national list recognizing states for adopting a comprehensive early literacy policy to provide students with the foundational reading skills to learn, graduate, and succeed.
• Louisiana has exceeded its pre-pandemic school performance score following consecutive years of growth.
• Louisiana high school students earned record achievements on Advanced Placement tests.
• Louisiana’s 2023 senior class earned the first annual increase in average ACT since 2017, even as the national average dropped.
• Louisiana students increased scores for the second consecutive year and 75% of school systems improved on the 2023 LEAP.
• Louisiana’s 4th graders led the country in reading growth and the state’s overall ranking moved from 46th to 42nd among the states from 2019 to 2022 on NAEP.

The U.S. News & World Report Pre-K-12 ranking informs the Best States rankings. It measures state performance across the life cycle of a young person’s education, encompassing preschool enrollment, standardized test scores among eighth-graders, high school graduation rate and college readiness.

Louisiana’s top gambling regulator Ronnie Johns, who ushered in the state’s largest gaming expansion in three decades, is resigning next month to spend more time with his family.

Johns, a Republican who oversaw the addition of sports wagering to the Louisiana gambling scene, said new GOP Gov. Jeff Landry didn’t ask him to step down.

Landry is expect to appoint a new chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board soon.

“I’m about to be 75 years old, and Michelle and I have things we want to do, and this is a full-time job,” Johns said in an interview with USA Today Network. “It’s time.”

Johns, who lives in Lafayette, will retire after 37 years of elective and appointed public service that included a stint as the Louisiana Lottery chairman, 12 years in the state House and 10 years in the state Senate.

Former Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed Johns to lead the Louisiana Gaming Control Board in 2021 as the state was poised to add sports wagering to its gambling options.

Sports wagering now contributes nearly $100 million annually in revenue supporting the state budget.

“We did it the right way and in a manner that generated confidence in the future of sports betting for both players, the industry and lawmakers,” Johns said.

Johns also has courted $1 billion or more in new investment from casino companies who have upgraded or transformed their properties, from the complete rebuild of Ceasars Horsehoe Casino in Lake Charles after it was destroyed by Hurricane Laura to the Queen and Belle in Baton Rouge and the Louisiana Live! Casino in Bossier.

Those investments escalated with the recent option for Louisiana’s riverboat casinos to build landside properties.

Johns is bullish on the Shreveport-Bossier market and believes The Cordish Companies’ nearly $300 million investment into Louisiana Live! will help reverse a two-decade decline because of increased competition from Oklahoma.

“I honestly think this development will grow the entire Shreveport-Bossier market,” Johns said. “That’s been proven in the Lake Charles market. When the new Horseshoe opened there, it expanded the market rather than cannibalized it.”

Jon Cordish has promised his family’s complete renovation of the former Diamond Jacks Casino in Bossier City will transform the former property into a destination gambling, event and entertainment resort that will rival the top destinations in the country.

“It’s going to have a quality and energy that when you walk into this property, you’ll feel like you’re in a premier casino and resort in the top gaming markets, including Las Vegas,” said Cordish, a principal with The Cordish Companies, in a previous interview with USA Today Network.

Louisiana Live! will be the first land-based casino in Shreveport-Bossier.

Johns said his resignation is effective June 30.

“I will leave the board knowing that I did my work as regulator with the integrity that it calls for with fairness to the industry, but with absolute compliance of our strict gaming laws and rules that we must adhere to,” Johns said. “There comes a time in everyone’s life when they should step back and make their family the No. 1 priority. I have arrived at that point.”

More: Louisiana is banning certain sports bets: What you need to know

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.