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.

Nitrogen gas is banned in Louisiana to euthanize dogs. The state plans to use it to kill a death row inmate next month - ‘This is a state that hasn't executed anybody in 15 years, and suddenly there’s this rush to kill,

The latest lawsuit, filed in Louisiana's Middle District Court, says the state has refused to release the execution protocol to Hoffman, depriving him of his rights. It also alleges executing Hoffman via nitrogen gas would violate the Eight Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment.

Christopher Sepulvado, 81, died Saturday at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, "from natural causes as a result of complications arising from his pre-existing medical conditions," according to the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.

Christopher Sepulvado, 81, died from "natural causes," the state corrections department said. He was convicted of murder in the 1992 killing of his 6-year-old stepson.

A federal judge in the Middle District Court of Louisiana granted a motion to expedite consideration and reopening of the case.

Jessie Hoffman, a death row inmate, is scheduled to be Louisiana's first execution since 2010 and will be put to death by nitrogen gas, despite a lawsuit filed to stay his execution.