A group of Oklahoma death row inmates scheduled to die early next year say a federal judge erred when he failed to stop their pending executions and are asking an appeals court to temporarily halt their executions.
Attorneys for the four men filed their opening brief Wednesday in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
They claim the state's use of the sedative midazolam as the first of three lethal drugs presents a risk of unconstitutional pain and suffering. They also argue that by tinkering with the lethal injection drugs and dosages, the state is essentially conducting experiments on unwilling subjects.
A federal judge in Oklahoma City last week rejected those claims, paving the way for the first execution to be held Jan. 15.
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