HUNTSVILLE — A death row inmate’s life was spared two hours longer than expected Wednesday evening due to a delay in the court appeals process.

The surviving victim of Mark Stroman’s post-9/11 shooting spree in the Dallas-area made the unconventional gesture of requesting the courts to halt Stroman’s execution in an effort to set up mediation between the two.

Rais Bhuiyan, who was left partially blind after being shot in the face by Stroman, filed a lawsuit suggesting his Muslim faith required him to forgive his offender. Bhuiyan also said he wanted to meet with Stroman to learn more about why the shootings occurred.

A federal district judge in Austin rejected Bhuiyan’s suit and request for injunction on Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press reported. His lawyers appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, but Justice Antonin Scalia rejected it as well.

However, Bhuiyan’s last-minute appeal in state court Wednesday evening in Austin delayed Stroman’s execution but requests to delay any further were denied.

In a separate appeal to the Supreme Court, Stroman’s lawyer Lydia Bryant pointed to Bhuiyan’s lawsuit and argued that attorneys during Stroman's trial and in earlier stages of his appeals were deficient for not illustrating “the path that led him to this violent frenzy.”

In October 2001, Stroman murdered what he believed to have been a Middle Eastern convenience store worker in retaliation to 9/11 terrorist attacks – in which he claimed his sister was killed. But no evidence shows Stroman’s sister ever existed, according an AP source.

Stroman claimed his attacks were out of grief, rage and patriotic duty. The victim was 49-year-old Vasudev Patel, an immigrant from India, not the Middle East. Bhuiyan and the other victim who was killed were also from parts of South Asia.

Stroman was strapped to a gurney in the death chamber at 8:29 p.m. He was pronounced dead less than 25 minutes later. Prior to his death, Stroman described himself as “at peace” with his destiny and discouraged all forms of hatred.

“Even though I lay on this gurney, seconds away from my death, I am at total peace,” he said. “May the Lord Jesus Christ be with me. Hate is going on in this world and it has to stop. Hate causes a lifetime of pain.”

Stroman’s juvenile record showed he participated in an armed robbery at age 12. He served at least two prison terms for prior convictions of burglary, robbery, theft and credit card abuse. Stroman was free on bond for gun possession at the time of the shootings.

For his final meal request, Stroman received battered chicken fried steak with gravy, 12 crispy pieces of bacon, a ham and cheese omelet, fried potatoes, squash and okra. He also received three large Dr. Pepper’s and a pint of vanilla Blue Bell Ice Cream.

Stroman spoke to his personal witnesses in the death chamber until the lethal doses took its effect on him.

“Even though I lay here, I’m still a proud American – Texas loud, Texas proud. God bless America. God bless everyone,” he added.

Stroman’s death is the eighth execution in Texas this year. Eight more executions are scheduled within the next three months in the nation’s busiest death penalty state.