Louisiana ended its 15-year death penalty hiatus Tuesday when it executed convicted rapist and murderer Jessie Hoffman with nitrogen gas. Hoffman, 46, was put to death at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola for the 1996 killing of 28-year-old Mary “Molly” Elliot,

Jessie Hoffman, Jr. was pronounced dead around 6:50 p.m. Tuesday at the State Penitentiary at Angola, officials announced in a briefing after the execution. He inhaled pure nitrogen gas through a mask strapped to his face for 19 minutes while pinned to a gurney, officials said, until oxygen deprivation caused him to die.

On the day that Louisiana’s first execution in 15 years is scheduled to take place, attorneys for the inmate are hoping for a last-minute court ruling to halt the death penalty from being carried out.