Before his execution, lawyers for Jessie Hoffman Jr., who was 18 when he was convicted of the 1996 murder of a 28-year-old woman, argued that the nitrogen gas execution infringed on his freedom to practice religion.

In Louisiana's gas execution method, a death row inmate would be forced to breathe the pure nitrogen through a gas mask fastened tightly to their face for either 15 minutes or for 5 minutes after the inmate's heart rate reaches a flatline on an EKG, whichever is longer.

After weeks of legal maneuvers to delay Jessie Hoffman's execution, including a last-minute appeal denial from the U.S. Supreme Court, his death came at 6:50 p.m. -- nearly 20 minutes after nitrogen gas was administered to him.