A man in Virginia is scheduled to be executed Thursday for beating a co-worker to death with a brass lamp.

Christopher Scott Emmett's execution comes as his attorneys argue that Virginia's use of lethal injection amounts to cruel and unusual punishment because of the possibility that paralyzing and heart-stopping drugs could be given before inmates are rendered unconscious by another drug.

A panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled earlier this month that Virginia's methods of administering the lethal drugs were "substantially similar" to those in Kentucky, which were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in April.

Authorities say that in 2001, Emmett beat John Fenton Langley to death so he could steal money to buy crack cocaine.

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