A Missouri inmate took his final breath early Wednesday morning before the state executed him for sexually assaulting and beating a 63-year-old woman to death with a hammer in 1998.

Paul Goodwin, 48, marked Missouri's 10th execution of an inmate through lethal injection in 2014 alone. Goodwin's execution began at 1:17 a.m., and he was pronounced dead 8 minutes later at 1:25 a.m., reports the Associated Press.

Goodwin was convicted of sexually assaulting his former neighbor, Joan Crotts, in St. Louis County, in addition to pushing her down a flight of stairs and beating her in the head with a hammer. The incident occurred after Goodwin accused Crotts of playing a role in getting him evicted from a boarding house.

Attorney Jennifer Herndon argued against his death sentence, saying that Goodwin had an IQ of 73 or lower. According to her, executing him would violate a U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the death penalty for the mentally disabled.

In addition, Goodwin's sister, Mary Mifflin, stated that the death penalty "is not a just punishment for his crime - an act that occurred out of passion, not premeditation, by a man with the mental capabilities of a child, not an adult."

However, the victim's daughter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Goodwin deserved to die.

"I've been sitting back waiting for this to happen," Debbie Decker said. "I'm hoping all these bad memories will go away."

This is not the first execution to gain considerable attention lately. In September, a woman convicted of starving, torturing and killing her girlfriend's 9-year-old son 10 years ago became the second woman to be executed in Texas.

Lisa Coleman, 38, was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m. CDT, 12 minutes after receiving a lethal injection by Texas Department of Criminal officials, reports the Associated Press.

Coleman was convicted of killing Davontae Williams in an apartment that she shared with his mother, Marcella Williams, in North Texas.

When his body was discovered by paramedics in July 2004, he weighed 36 pounds, which is about half the size of a child his age.

During her trial, a pediatrician testified that the boy suffered from over 250 injuries, including burns from cigarettes or cigars, scars from ligatures, and a lack of food.

"There was not an inch on his body that not been bruised or scarred or injured," said prosecutor Dixie Bersano.

A Tarrant County jury sentenced Coleman to death in 2006, while Williams took a plea bargain and was handed life in prison.