The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Devin Allen Bennett, a Mississippi man sentenced to death in 2003 for the murder of his two-month-old son, Brandon.

Bennett’s appeal, which followed previous rejections by the Mississippi Court of Appeals and the Mississippi Supreme Court, argued ineffective legal representation during his trial. He claimed his original attorney failed to present evidence of his mental health issues, substance abuse history, and childhood trauma caused by physical abuse. However, state judges concluded in 2021 that even with a different legal strategy, the trial’s outcome would not have changed.

At the time of his death, Brandon weighed only 12 pounds and had suffered severe injuries, including two skull fractures and multiple hemorrhages. Although Bennett offered at least seven conflicting accounts of how the injuries occurred—ranging from a fall to being kicked out of bed—an autopsy determined the injuries were consistent with a direct blow to the head, for which Bennett was found guilty.

The Supreme Court’s decision marks the end of Bennett’s legal battle to avoid death row. A date for his execution has not been scheduled.

Since 1976, Mississippi has executed 23 individuals convicted of capital murder.