A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld Virginia's method of executing inmates by lethal injection, ruling that it prevents them from experiencing excruciating pain.
In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected condemned inmate Christopher Scott Emmett's argument that Virginia's procedure was unconstitutional.
Emmett's lawyers claimed the procedure risks substantial harm because it does not allow for a second dose of anesthesia to make sure an inmate is unconscious before paralyzing and heart-stopping drugs are injected.
The appeals court said there is no evidence that the first dose of anesthesia has ever failed to render an inmate unconscious.
The ruling came on the day another Virginia inmate _ Kent Jermaine Jackson _ was executed by lethal injection for killing his 79-year-old neighbor. The 26-year-old Jackson, sentenced to death for the 2000 killing of Beulah Mae Kaiser, was pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m.
Emmett is scheduled to be executed July 24 for the 2001 bludgeoning death of a co-worker in Danville.
The appeals court said Virginia's protocol for administering the three-drug concoction is "largely identical" to that of Kentucky, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in April.
In his dissent, Justice Roger Gregory argued that Virginia's protocol is different enough from Kentucky's to require further study.
Kentucky administers 3 grams of sodium thiopental, which results in a deep, coma-like unconsciousness, while Virginia uses only 2 grams.
Also unlike Kentucky, Virginia uses the so-called "rapid flow" technique, in which the lethal chemicals are administered quickly one after the other without pause. Kentucky corrections officials pause between the first and second doses of drugs to make sure the inmate is properly sedated.
While the majority found those to be "minor variations," Gregory said they made a difference in whether an execution was humane.
"A cocktail of the very same three drugs has the potential to end in quiet, painless death or excruciating, silent torture depending upon how those drugs are administered," he wrote.
Emmett's lawyer, Matthew S. Hellman, said he was disappointed with the ruling but declined to comment on whether he'll appeal to the full appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court.
Attorney General Bob McDonnell's office was pleased with the ruling.
"This is yet another confirmation by the courts that lethal injection as authorized in the commonwealth is constitutional," said David Clementson, a spokesman.
Emmett was convicted of beating John Fenton Langley to death with the base of a brass lamp in a motel room, taking his wallet and using the money to buy crack cocaine. Langley and Emmett were friends and had been working together in Danville as part of an out-of-town roofing crew.
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Associated Press Writer Larry O'Dell contributed to this article.
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