Court denies stays of execution

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A federal appeals court has denied a request by four Oklahoma death row inmates for a stay of execution, paving the way for the state’s first lethal injection since a problematic execution in the spring.

In a ruling Monday, a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver denied an emergency motion requested by the inmates for stays of execution.

One of the attorneys for the death row inmates, Dale Baich, says they intend to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the executions from proceeding.

Charles Frederick Warner is scheduled to be executed Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Three more executions have been scheduled through March.

The inmates claim the current drug protocol presents a risk of unconstitutional pain and suffering.