The state of Alabama is asking an appellate court to let the November execution of an inmate go forward.
The state attorney general's office on Friday asked the 11th U.S. circuit Court of Appeals to reject Tommy Arthur's request for a stay.
The state argues Arthur has used abusive litigation tactics to "escape" execution. Arthur had been scheduled for execution on six previous occasions, but was given court-issued reprieves.
Arthur is scheduled to be put to death Nov. 3 for the 1982 murder-for-hire of Muscle Shoals businessman Troy Wicker.
Arthur asked for a stay as he appeals a judge's dismissal of his lawsuit challenging Alabama's lethal injection procedure. His attorneys argue the judge prematurely dismissed the case after misapplying a requirement for inmates to name an alternate execution method.