Rejecting arguments about a new lethal-injection procedure, the Florida Supreme Court refused to block the scheduled Aug. 24 execution of death row inmate Mark James Asay.

The court's majority said Asay had not shown that the introduction of the drug etomidate into the execution process put him at risk of suffering in violation of the U.S. Constitution. Corrections officials plan to use etomidate as a substitute for a previous drug, midazolam, as the first drug in a three-step process. It would be the first time etomidate, a sedative, has been used in an execution.

In its decision, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling by a Duval County circuit judge who held a hearing on the lethal-injection drug issue.