BATON ROUGE — More than 15 years after Louisiana paused its executions, the state resumed and put a Black man to death using a controversial method on Tuesday evening.

Hours before he was scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, attorneys for Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, were hoping for a judge to halt the controversial execution. Hoffman was executed by nitrogen gas, the first time it has been used for an execution in Louisiana. Nitrogen gas has only been used four times in the United States for executions, and they all took place in Alabama. Oklahoma and Mississippi are also authorized to use nitrogen gas to execute prisoners.

Hoffman, who is Black, was convicted of raping and murdering 28-year-old Mary “Molly” Elliott, an advertising executive more than two decades ago. On Nov. 26, 1996, Hoffman allegedly kidnapped Elliott and robbed her at gunpoint in New Orleans before taking her to a remote area where he sexually assaulted and killed Elliott.

Louisiana prison officials have said execution by nitrogen hypoxia is painless. Nitrogen hypoxia is the deprivation of oxygen when nitrogen is inhaled.

On Monday, Hoffman’s attorneys filed several challenges in state and federal court. A judge rejected Hoffman’s attorneys’ request to halt the execution after they said the method violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, and infringed on his religion which allowed him to use Buddhist breathing techniques during his execution, local news station WAFB reported.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill reportedly said she expects at least four people currently on death row to be executed this year.

More on Jessie Hoffman Jr.’s execution and nitrogen hypoxia.