The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a death row inmate's appeal just hours before his execution. The state of Missouri executed Leon Taylor some time after midnight Wednesday morning for a homicide committed 20 years ago.

Taylor, 56, from Kansas City, was sentenced to death in 1994 after being found guilty of the murder of Robert Newton, 53, at a gas station, according to Reuters. Following his conviction, a jury deadlocked on the death sentence, so the judge sentenced him to death.

Taylor's attorneys tried to halt the execution, arguing that racial discrimination and legal concerns played a part in his sentencing. After the first jury deadlocked on a decision, a second all-white jury sentenced him to death.

"There are racial concerns throughout this case," Elizabeth Carlyle, Taylor's attorney, said. "He was an African-American man accused of killing a white man."

His attorney also wanted to wait until a case brought against the state by other death row inmates concerning the lethal injection cocktail used was addressed.

According to The Associated Press, the Supreme Court decision led to a Missouri Supreme Court decision that commuted 10 death penalty sentences, except Taylor's. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to hear Taylor's appeal and at 12:22 a.m. Wednesday morning, Taylor was pronounced dead at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

Despite saying he would consider a clemency plea, Gov. Jay Nixon rejected the request, ending Taylor's last chance to avoid execution, reports the AP.

Four members of his family were present during the eight-minute execution, which proceeded without issue.

"I am also sorry to have brought all of you to this point in my life to witness this and/or participate," Taylor said in his last statement to Newton's family. "Stay strong and keep your heads to the sky."

With this execution, Missouri has matched its 1999 record for the most executions in one year.

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