Death row inmate Jessie Hoffman Jr. had nothing to say before Louisiana executed him with nitrogen gas Tuesday evening.
Hoffman, 46, became the first person executed in the state in 15 years. He declined to make a statement and declined a final meal. Authorities described the process as "flawless," the Associated Press reported.
The state's decision to use nitrogen gas hypoxia had sparked a legal battle. The process is relatively new and Hoffman became only the fifth person to be executed by the method, the AP reported.
The execution process involves putting a mask over the person's face and pumping in nitrogen gas. The state has said the process is nearly painless because a person loses conscious very quickly making it a humane execution method. Critics contend that it is possible that people are awake longer than the state believes, and that the process could amount to torture.
Last week a federal judge issued a ruling stopping the execution after Hoffman asked for a more humane way to die. Hoffman, through his attorneys had requested a firing squad or an assisted suicide drug cocktail - but neither method is available in Louisiana. Hoffman also raised concerns about the use of nitrogen hypoxia in executions, arguing that it is a cruel punishment that would violate his constitutional rights.
That ruling was overturned Friday with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans clearing the way for the execution, the AP reported. The U.S. Supreme Court also declined to intervene by a 5-4 vote.
A reporter with WDSU, Gina Swanson, witnessed the execution and told the AP that is was "clinical" and "procedural," adding that nothing happened that made her her think something was amiss with the process. Witnesses did describe "some convulsive activity" during the death.
Hoffman was put to death for the 1996 rape and murder of New Orleans advertising executive Mary "Molly" Elliott. Hoffman, a parking lot attendant, kidnapped Elliot the day before Thanksgiving, assaulted her, executed her, and dumped her nude body along the East Pearl River. She was found by a duck hunter on Thanksgiving, USA TODAY reported.
"Molly was a cherished person who missed out on motherhood, a promising and successful career, and a life in the country on the property we bought together," her husband, Andy Elliott, told USA TODAY. "Hers was a life that was so full of hope and promise for a beautiful future. The loss of Molly is a scar we will forever carry, and it will never heal."
