Bonne Terre, Missouri - The state of Missouri on Tuesday executed Amber McLaughlin, who is believed to be the first openly transgender woman in the US to receive a death sentence.

Before her lethal injection, McLaughlin (49) shared her final statement with the Associated Press: "I am sorry for what I did. I am a loving and caring person."

She spoke with a spiritual advisor before receiving the dose of pentobarbital. She was pronounced dead soon thereafter.

McLaughlin was convicted of stalking and killing her girlfriend in 2003 and disposing of the body near the Mississippi River. The crime occurred before McLaughlin transitioned.

Advocates launched a campaign urging Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons to grant her clemency before the scheduled execution, but he declined to do so.

In their petition, supporters cited childhood experiences of abuse and mental health issues. When McLaughlin was a child, a foster parent smeared feces in her face, and her adoptive father used a stun gun on her. She developed severe depression and attempted suicide multiple times. Her gender dysphoria diagnosis also played a role in feelings of depression, advocates said.

The jury did not hear about McLaughlin's traumatic childhood at the time of her 2006 conviction. They also did not recommend she receive the death penalty; they remained deadlocked, allowing the judge to come in and issue the death sentence.

Missouri and Indiana are the only states that allow judges to order an execution.

Two people were executed in Missouri in 2022 out of 18 across the country. Kevin Johnson was put to death in November and Carman Deck in May.

McLaughlin was the state's first execution in 2023.

Missouri is scheduled to execute another person named Leonard Taylor on February 7.