A day after the Supreme Court denied a last-minute appeal, Oklahoma executed inmate Benjamin Cole for the murder of his 9-month-old daughter 20 years ago.

Cole, 57, was pronounced dead at 10:22 a.m. CT at Oklahoma's state penitentiary in McAlester. He was the sixth Oklahoma inmate to be executed since the state resumed executions in 2021. Cole's execution was also the second of 25 the state has scheduled through 2024.

Cole declined a ceremonial last meal and chose not to have a spiritual adviser with him, Oklahoma Department of Corrections Chief of Operations Justin Farris told reporters. According to Farris, Cole also delivered a rambling, two-minute prayer while strapped to a gurney before he was administered a lethal injection.

Cole was convicted of breaking the baby's spine because her crying interrupting a video game he was playing.

Cole admitted his guilt in a taped confession, telling police he would "regret his actions for the rest of his life," according to his clemency petition. Attorneys for Cole argued that he was severely mentally ill and suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was not mentally competent to be executed.

In September, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board rejected a clemency request, ruling Cole was mentally competent to be executed.

A district court judge in Oklahoma also ruled that Cole was mentally competent to be executed.

Family members of the slain infant were present at the execution.

"She died a horrific death," Donna Daniel, the child's maternal aunt, told reporters. "He gets off easy and gets to get a little injection in his arm and go to sleep in his death. He did not give Brianna the chance to ever grow up, to even have her first Christmas, to meet her family."

Bryan Young, the victim's uncle said the family waited too long for the execution.

"Twenty years? Give me a break," Young said. "We should not have to wait 20 years for a 9-month-old baby to get justice."

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