Indiana carried out its first execution since 2009 before dawn on Wednesday, with much of the process hidden from the public.

Under state law, no media witnesses were allowed to view the execution of 49-year-old Joseph Corcoran, who died by lethal injection for the 1997 murders of his brother and three other men, including the fiancé of Corcoran’s sister.

The condemned man’s lawyers continued to petition the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, on Tuesday to stop the execution after a federal appeals court on Monday sided with a federal judge who ruled for him the execution was responsible.

The Indiana Department of Correction said in a statement that the execution process began shortly after midnight CT and Corcoran was pronounced dead at 12:44 a.m. CT.

His last words were: “Not really. Let’s get this over with,” the department said.

The department said Tuesday evening that Corcoran ordered ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s for his last meal. His execution could take place sometime between midnight Wednesday and sunrise, barring a last-minute reprieve.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said in a statement that Cocoran “paid his debt to society as justice was served for his victims.”

He added that the state carried out the execution “professionally.”

Corcoran’s lawyers claim that he suffered from “severe and long-standing paranoid schizophrenia,” which was documented in self-published books from prison in which he described being subjected to “ultrasound monitoring.” His mental state, the lawyers add, prevented him from properly seeking legal aid after his conviction.

“If the courts do not stay the execution, we ask Governor (Eric) Holcomb to grant clemency to Joe, a severely mentally ill man,” Assistant Public Defender Joanna Green said in an email Tuesday.

In a dissenting opinion for the appeals court, U.S. District Judge John Lee acknowledged that “Given Corcoran’s long, undisputed history of serious mental illness and the prevalence of his persistent delusions, as evidenced in his book and recent medical records.” “At least one court assesses its enforcement competence.”

In recent days, anti-death penalty groups demonstrated at the state Capitol and delivered letters to Holcomb’s office urging him to exercise his clemency powers.

“One week before we welcome the light of the Prince of Peace into the world,” said David Frank, president of the Indiana Abolition Coalition, referring to Christmas, “the state is plotting in secret and under the cover of darkness to take life. “Mr. Corcoran.”

Holcomb’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. In June, Holcomb announced that the state had acquired pentobarbital, a lethal injection sedative, after “years of effort.”

“Accordingly, I am fulfilling my duties as governor to follow the law and act appropriately in this matter,” Holcomb said.

In some states that impose the death penalty, there have been problems obtaining lethal injections, leading to a moratorium on the practice. Still, this year Utah executed its first inmate in 14 years and South Carolina its first in 13 years, while Idaho attempted to carry out its first execution in 12 years but abandoned the procedure when prison staff could not find a viable vein.

According to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, of the 27 states that still allow the death penalty, only Indiana and Wyoming bar media witnesses.