A man who beat a co-worker to death with a lamp and then claimed Virginia's method of executing prisoners by lethal injection was inhumane is scheduled to die, unless a federal appeals court or the governor give him more time to make his argument.

Christopher Scott Emmett's execution is set for 9 p.m. Thursday at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt.

Earlier this month, a divided panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Emmett's argument that Virginia's use of lethal injection is cruel because of the possibility that paralyzing and heart-stopping drugs could be administered before inmates are rendered unconscious by another drug.

Emmett's lawyers have asked the full court to hear his appeal. They also have asked Governor Timothy Kaine for clemency.