A sharply divided Supreme Court declined Tuesday to halt the execution of a death row inmate in Louisiana who argued that the use of nitrogen gas would interfere with his Buddhist beliefs – an argument that drew interest from one of the court’s conservatives.

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 vote declined to stop Louisiana from carrying out its first execution in 15 years later Tuesday with Justice Neil Gorsuch joining the court’s three liberal

Death row inmate Jessie Hoffman's execution marks the first time Louisiana has used the method and is the state's first execution in 15 years.