U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CUTS HALF ITS STAFF 6A
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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
W e d n e s d ay, M a r c h 12, 2025
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Federal judge halts La. execution
Ruling pauses first usage of nitrogen gas BY ANDREA GALLO and JOHN SIMERMAN
U.S. District Court Judge Shelly Dick granted the preliminary injunction Tuesday after a daylong Staff writers hearing last week in which attorA federal judge in Baton Rouge neys for condemned inmate Jessie has issued a preliminary injunc- Hoffman Jr. argued that the state’s tion to stop Louisiana from moving plan to kill him with nitrogen forward with its first nitrogen gas amounts to cruel and unusual punexecution March 18, though the ishment, which is forbidden under state immediately moved to appeal the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. her ruling. Constitution. She also wrote that
she was persuaded by arguments that death by a firing squad would be a quicker and more humane method, though it is not currently legal in Louisiana. “Now, after an expedited hearing, and absent a fully developed record, this Court must answer the ultimate question: is nitrogen hypoxia cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amend-
ment?” Dick wrote in her ruling. She said Hoffman’s attorneys had proved enough to warrant a delay until she can fully consider the issue. “Plaintiff has shown that nitrogen hypoxia superadds psychological pain, suffering, and terror to his execution when compared to execution by firing squad,” Dick added. “He has shown that execution by firing squad is a feasible and readily available alternative that the State has no legitimate penological reason for not adopting.”
Edwards, library reach compromise on funding
Attorneys for the state filed a notice of appeal within minutes of Dick releasing her ruling Tuesday afternoon. “We disagree with the district court’s ruling and are prepared to appeal swiftly to the 5th Circuit,” Attorney General Liz Murrill said. Cecelia Kappel, one of Hoffman’s attorneys, said they were grateful that the court recognized the risks to Hoffman’s constitutional rights posed by a “new and untested”
ä See EXECUTION, page 4A
FEMA overhaul seeks La. advice Trump administration eyes agency’s future
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sid Edwards speaks during a news conference on Tuesday.
STAFF PHOTOS By HILARy SCHEINUK
ownership of its share of tax revenue. Deal lessens cuts, reroutes ing It can also fund pay raises for parish employees, including police, but a priority will money from other areas be placed on restructure benefits first, said
BY PATRICK SLOAN-TURNER Staff writer
Baton Rouge’s mayor said Tuesday he was scaling back his plan to shift some money that currently funds East Baton Rouge Parish libraries to pay for other priorities, saying it was a compromise with library supporters who feared the impact of budget cuts. Edwards now also wants to reroute some money from the parish’s mosquito control program and the Council on Aging. All told, the city-parish general fund would grow by $36.89 million annually and receive $52.4 million in one-time funds. The money would be used to stabilize the parish budget, which is facing a deficit because the new city of St. George is tak-
Metro Council member Dwight Hudson. The one-time money will be used to help pay off the city-parish’s debt, saving money in the long term on interest payments. The new proposal would cut the library’s annual budget by about 25% instead of roughly 40%. Edwards announced the new proposal a day before the Metro Council was set to vote on his previous plan. “Today is a huge win for Baton Rouge,” Edwards said at a news conference Tuesday. The announcement comes after weeks of public pushback, with library supporters criticizing the mayor for going after the funds at town halls and meetings throughout the parish.
ä See LIBRARY, page 7A
“Most of all, the most important thing here is we keep our dedicated millage. That is what we wanted most. We are very happy that we keep it.” KATRINA STOKES, East Baton Rouge Parish Library director
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s advisory council on FEMA’s future wants to hear from the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said GOHSEP Director Jacques Thibodeaux. There could be Thibodeaux many reasons. As the frequent target of hurricanes, floods and tornadoes, Louisiana has been working closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 30 years to provide recovery and mitigation funds for individuals and local governments, Thibodeaux said. The federal agency has open programs in Louisiana for 10 disasters, giving the state’s emergency management officials more experience with the agency than those from most states. Thibodeaux said the panel especially wants to hear how things worked with the local-state-federal coordination in providing security for the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. The state wants federal reimbursement for its $50 million cost. “I’ve already been asked by the Department of Homeland Security for them to share our process these last 65 days with FEMA and use it as a case study,” Thibodeaux said. “That was huge for us, for them to ask us the permission to use this as a case study and to and to bring us in front of the panel and ask us questions as subject matter
ä See FEMA, page 7A
BESE adds Gulf of America to school social studies standards BY ELYSE CARMOSINO
ecutive order mandating that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed to the Gulf of America. The board’s embrace of the name Louisiana’s state board of education voted unanimously Tuesday change, which sparked controto align the state’s fourth and fifth versy when Trump announced it grade social studies standards in January, means that Louisiana with President Donald Trump’s ex- teachers will be encouraged to Staff writer
WEATHER HIGH 79 LOW 60 PAGE 8B
refer to the body of water between Mexico and North America by the new name in classroom lessons, and all new fourth and fifth grade social studies materials — the two grades whose standards mention the Gulf in units on world history — will be required to reflect the
change moving forward. However, schools will not be required to replace their existing textbooks, state officials said. To ensure Louisiana is aligned with the president’s order, “I recommend striking the name ‘Mexico’ and replacing it with ‘America’
Business ......................3B Commentary ................7B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................6D Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................6B Comics-Puzzles .....3D-5D Living............................1D Sports ..........................1C
in reference to the Gulf in Louisiana’s standards for social studies education,” state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley, who has periodically dipped his toes into the U.S.’s education culture
ä See GULF, page 4A
100TH yEAR, NO. 255